Police Acting Strangely... Suspect's Photo and Driver's License Revealed on Naver Cafe

Seoul Traffic Police 'Promoting Traffic Safety'
Personal Information Such as Name, Gender, Age
Mosaic Processed but Identification Possible
Internal Department Also Says "Violation of Personal Information Protection Act"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Sehee Jang] It has been confirmed that suspect personal information was openly disclosed on a portal cafe created by the Seoul Traffic Police. Although mosaic and anonymization were applied, the suspect facts related to specific traffic incidents were fully included. Inside and outside the police have pointed out that "this goes beyond a simple issue and has many illegal implications."

According to a comprehensive investigation by Asia Economy on the 20th, the largest domestic portal site Naver cafe 'Gyotong Anjeon Alrigo' (Traffic Safety Notification) posted several exemplary case reports related to specific traffic incidents. These reports included the date and location of the incident and details of the exemplary actions taken. Examples include "An exemplary case of tracking an electric scooter running the red light and driving in the wrong direction on the road, confirming drunk driving, and arresting the suspect to prevent a serious accident." The reports contained personal information such as the suspect's name, gender, age, and photos. Although anonymization and mosaic processing were applied, the level of detail made it possible for the parties involved or those nearby to identify the individuals. In one case, a photo of a suspect's driver's license revealed the first six digits of the resident registration number. These exemplary case reports were publicly accessible through search on the portal site, meaning they were 'fully public' posts.

'Gyotong Anjeon Alrigo' was created in December 2020 by the Seoul Traffic Police. It was established not only for internal information sharing but also to centrally manage traffic safety promotional videos and educational materials. Although there is an internal police bulletin board, it is known that the cafe was created to improve accessibility. Currently, it is operated by the Traffic Safety Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and the traffic divisions of 31 police stations in Seoul freely upload materials. The traffic divisions of these 31 police stations also submitted exemplary case reports through this cafe, but the police explained that some frontline officers failed to properly conceal personal information. A police official said, "We posted exemplary case reports for promotional purposes to raise public awareness about the work of traffic police and traffic violations such as drunk driving. We instructed to conceal personal information as much as possible, but it seems some posts were uploaded without proper concealment."

Inside and outside the police, there are concerns that the exemplary case reports containing suspect personal information may have legal issues. A police officer who requested anonymity said, "This could violate the Personal Information Protection Act and the crime of disclosing suspect facts." The Personal Information Protection Act prohibits the use of information if it can identify an individual by combining it with other information, even if the name or resident registration number alone cannot identify the person. The crime of disclosing suspect facts is stipulated in Article 126 of the Criminal Act, which applies when investigative agencies such as the police disclose suspect facts learned during investigations before prosecution. Attorney Jang Junsung (Law Firm How) said, "If the posts only mentioned that such types of incidents occurred, it might avoid legal issues, but if there are identifiable parts, it could violate the Personal Information Protection Act and the crime of disclosing suspect facts. If the identified party files a complaint, defamation charges could also apply."

All suspects featured in the exemplary case reports were ordinary citizens. No cases involving so-called 'powerful' officials were found. Inside the police, there were remarks such as, "If incidents involving members of the National Assembly, vice ministers, or local government heads had been disclosed to ordinary citizens like this, the problem would have escalated uncontrollably." After this report, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency changed the cafe to a private one accessible only to members. A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "Since this could be a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, we took measures on this issue and plan to reopen it to the public after that."