NHRCK's Opinion on the Amendment draft to the 'Resident Registration Act'
o The National Human Rights Commission of Korea(Chairperson Hyun Byung-chul) expressed the following opinion to the Minister of Security and Public Administration regarding the amendment draft to the Resident Registration Act.
- Resident registration number should be composed of random digits that do not include private information.
- When there is a possible/confirmed damage of property or life/body due to exposure of the resident registration number, change to the resident registration number should be allowed.
o The NHRCK concluded that while the amendment proposal says that 'people whose property or life/body is expected to be severly damaged can change the resident registration number', the standard for 'severity' is ambiguous.
o In addition, the NHRCK believes that the resident registration number has to be composed of randomly chosen digits that do not include private information. That is because when specific part of the number is replaced by specific number and the reason for change is specified, it could infringe on privacy and freedom and lead to labelling effect.
