'Police Personal Information Disclosure Committee' Decides to Keep Half of the Cases Under Review of Violent Criminals' Personal Information Confidential

In the Past 5 Years, 20 of 40 Reviews Kept Personal Information Confidential
Considering Human Rights Violations and Recidivism Risks
Even Severe Cases That Sparked Public Outrage
Assemblyman Choi Chun-sik: "Improvements Needed Such as National Assembly's Authority to Disclose"

Choi Chun-sik, member of the People Power Party.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Police Identity Disclosure Committee, which decides whether to disclose the personal information of violent criminals, has not disclosed the suspect's personal information in half of the cases under review, considering human rights violations and other factors.

According to the 'Police Identity Disclosure Committee Review Data' obtained by Choi Chun-sik, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party, the Police Identity Disclosure Committee reviewed a total of 40 cases from 2016 to August this year to decide whether to disclose the personal information of violent criminals such as murderers.

Among these, in 20 cases, half of the total, the personal information was not disclosed considering factors such as 'human rights violations and the possibility of accidental crimes' and 'low risk of recidivism or insufficient public interest.'

Some of the cases where the suspect's personal information was not disclosed involved crimes that caused public outrage. Representative examples include the child abuse death case involving a nephew in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province earlier this year, and the sister robbery-murder case that occurred in Dangjin, Chungnam Province last year.

The Police Identity Disclosure Committee holds non-permanent meetings at each city and provincial police agency where the incident occurred to decide whether to disclose the suspect's personal information. The committee consists of a total of seven members, including at least four external members.

Assemblyman Choi said, "There is a strong public demand to institutionalize the disclosure of mugshots like overseas," and added, "To properly reflect the rights of bereaved families and public opinion, institutional improvements are needed so that the National Assembly can disclose the identity of criminals ex officio in certain cases."