Three Seongbuk-gu Officials Reported to Police for Leaking Documents on Novel Coronavirus Patients

On the 11th, visitors at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, are wearing masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Three public officials are under police investigation for leaking documents containing personal information of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Cyber Safety Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 11th that three public officials affiliated with Seongbuk-gu Office in Seoul have been booked on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act. They are suspected of leaking a report from the Seongbuk-gu Public Health Center containing personal information of the 5th confirmed COVID-19 patient for purposes unrelated to their official duties.

They are public officials of Seongbuk-gu Office and are understood not to be in charge of the Seongbuk Public Health Center. The police identified the leakers after witness interviews and on-site investigations. It is reported that all three admitted to leaking the documents during police questioning. A police official stated, "We recently summoned the public officials and completed the first round of investigation," adding, "We will continue to strictly investigate cases involving the leakage of official documents and the spread of fake news that cause social unrest."

The police are investigating the exact circumstances, believing that the documents were leaked by uploading the report to group chat rooms on social networking services (SNS) or by sending it to individuals.

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 30th of last month, photos of a report containing personal information and contact details of the 5th confirmed COVID-19 patient rapidly spread on internet communities.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that excessive exposure of personal information could hinder timely reporting of symptomatic individuals and epidemiological investigations, and announced a strict response policy, requesting the police to conduct an investigation.