NHRC Issues Recommendation to Office of Court Administration Chair to Create Provisions Regulating the Handling of Personal Information
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) confirmed that indiscriminate disclosure of sensitive personal information in the process of administering the law does violate human rights and issued a recommendation to the Chief of the Office of Court Administration to draft a provision for incorporation into the Regulations on Conducting Civil Cases such that the provisional disposition process will not cause sensitive personal information to be leaked. The recommendation follows a November 2002 complaint filed by Ms. Yeo, 33, charging that after the court ordered a provisional disposition against her for “trespassing” and “obstruction of business,” her full name, identification number (unique numbers issued to all registered Korean citizens), and address were listed on public notices displayed in easily accessible public areas for three years and that she incurred damages as a result.
The NHRC investigation found that the current Regulations on Conducting Civil Cases do not contain provisions protecting the privacy of personal information during the administration of court orders. Owing to this flaw in the system, the right to privacy, enshrined in article 17 of the Korean Constitution, continues to be infringed. In consideration of the fact that damages incurred by the leakage of private information are only amplified with the passage of time, the NHRC concluded that provisions regulating the disclosure of private information should be quickly incorporated into judicial procedures.
