Police Refer Resident Doctors and Medical Students Without Detention for Leaking Public Health Officer Dispatch List

Charged with Official Secrets Disclosure and Related Offenses

Thirteen individuals who posted the list of public health doctors (Gongbo-ui) dispatched by the government to fill medical gaps on an online community have been referred to the prosecution.

On the 16th, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that 11 doctors and 2 medical students were sent to prosecution without detention on charges of official secrets leakage and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.

They are suspected of being the first to leak the 'List of Public Health Doctors Dispatched for Emergency Medical Support at Medical Institutions' on social networking services (SNS) and posting it on internet communities.

The government dispatched 158 Gongbo-ui to tertiary hospitals on March 11, but a document showing their affiliations with only the names of the dispatched Gongbo-ui redacted was posted online. The next day, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported to the police for investigation, stating that internal documents had been posted on two online communities.