Geochang County Dismisses, Suspends, or Demotes 14 Individuals Caught Violating Regulations
A group of employees at the Geochang-gun Integrated Control Center in Gyeongnam have been referred to the prosecution after they accessed the vehicle movement records of their family and acquaintances without authorization.
The Geochang Police Station announced on the 4th that 14 control center employees were sent to the prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act, among others.
According to the police, individuals including a man in his 40s, identified as A, are suspected of illegally checking the movement records of vehicles belonging to family and acquaintances 4,318 times between January last year and March this year.
The police investigation revealed that they entered vehicle license plate numbers out of mere curiosity to check the movement records without authorization.
Some employees checked vehicle movements only two or three times, while others did so hundreds of times.
However, it was confirmed that there was no evidence of the information being leaked to outside parties.
Geochang-gun discovered these actions through a written statement while investigating internal conflicts among employees at the end of March. After conducting its own investigation, the county reported the case to the police on June 26.
The 14 employees who were referred to the prosecution received disciplinary actions such as dismissal, suspension, and pay cuts.
The control center, which previously operated with only one employee per shift, has changed its system so that two people, including a public official responsible for management and supervision, now work together.
The system will also be restructured to prevent vehicle searches without appropriate reasons.
A county official stated, "We have replaced the dismissed employees with new personnel to prevent any disruption in operations," adding, "For those who were suspended, measures such as reinstatement or reassignment to other departments will be taken depending on the outcome of the investigation."
The official also said, "It seems this incident occurred due to careless judgment," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that such incidents do not happen again."
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