"Child Abductions on the Rise... Military Manpower Administration Entrusts Children's Personal Data to Social Service Agents" [2025 National Assembly Audit]

"Even After the Nth Room Case... Social Service Agents Still Assigned to Handle Sensitive Personal Information"
Opposition Lawmaker Yoo Yongwon: "Military Manpower Administration Must Implement Institutional Reforms"

It has been revealed that a social service agent stored and managed sensitive personal information, including the home addresses, schools, grades, and guardians' contact details of about 30 children at a children's center.

On October 16, Assemblyman Yoo Yongwon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Defense Committee, announced that, based on materials submitted by the Military Manpower Administration and public interest disclosures, there were indications that a children's center in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, assigned a social service agent to handle sensitive personal information such as resident registration numbers, contact details, and home addresses of children vulnerable to crime.

This fact came to light when the social service agent reported to the National Sinmungo and tipped off the media, stating, "I was shocked to find that an unspecified number of people could easily access the personal information of children vulnerable to crime."

The Military Manpower Administration explained the situation by saying, "The personal information was handled as part of the essential duties of the children's center." However, Assemblyman Yoo pointed out, "During the 'Nth Room Case' in 2020, there was an incident where a social service agent illegally leaked the personal information of sexual exploitation victims, yet five years later, similar structural issues are recurring."

Regarding the explanation from the Military Manpower Administration, Assemblyman Yoo emphasized, "With child abduction cases rapidly increasing recently, the Military Manpower Administration is demonstrating a serious lack of awareness regarding safety. The agency should not simply focus on strengthening education, but must establish practical institutional improvements to manage and control social service agents' access to sensitive personal information itself."