Prosecutors have uncovered additional crimes committed by a man in his 40s who was previously referred for trial on charges of attempting to extort money by threatening to kill a victim's family. During the investigation, it was revealed that he had used personal information obtained while running a mobile phone retail store to commit these offenses, and he has now been indicted on additional charges.
The Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Kwon Sunghui) announced on June 11 that Kim (45), a former mobile phone store owner who was indicted and detained on May 26 on charges of attempted extortion and violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, has now been additionally indicted for violating the Personal Information Protection Act.
According to prosecutors, Kim is accused of using subscriber personal information obtained while operating his mobile phone store to threaten or stalk victim A in April, telling A that he would kill or sexually assault A's family in an attempt to extort 100 million won.
When Kim was referred by police on charges of attempted extortion, the background of the crime, including how A's family was targeted, was unclear. However, through a comprehensive supplementary investigation, prosecutors discovered that Kim had specifically targeted A using subscriber personal information he had obtained while running the mobile phone store in the past.
In principle, mobile phone stores are required to transmit subscription applications and identification documents submitted by subscribers to the telecom company’s server at the time of phone activation, and are not allowed to store them individually. However, Kim illegally retained this information and used it to search for potential victims.
It was also additionally revealed that after A reported Kim's threats to the police, Kim repeatedly broke into A's residence, sent text messages (in violation of the Stalking Punishment Act), and made retaliatory threats.
Prosecutors stated that Kim's crimes are considered more serious because, unlike simple extortion or threats, he abused personal information. For this reason, he has been additionally indicted for violating the Personal Information Protection Act, and psychological counseling support has been provided to the victim's family.
The prosecution stated, "Crimes involving the illegal use of mobile phone subscribers' personal information pose a serious threat to everyday life for the public, and we will strictly crack down on similar offenses in the future."
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