NHRC issues recommendation to discipline police lieutenant who illegally acquired and used a criminal record
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a recommendation to the Chief of the Chung Buk Provincial Police Agency (CBPPA) to take disciplinary action against police officer Lee for breaking the law and violating human rights after confirming the factuality of those charges. The recommendation follows an August 2002 complaint filed by a Mr. Lee, 40, against Police Lieutenant Lee, whose police station is under the authority of the CBPPA, and relates to charges that Lieutenant Lee “committed slander” and overstepped his authority by “illegally looking into my police record and then informing my wife, thereby bringing about a breakdown in our relationship.”
The NHRC investigation found that Police Lieutenant Lee had formerly dated complainant Lee’s wife, Ms. K, with intent to marry her, and had received a personal request from Ms. K to “look into the record of the man I live with [complainant Lee] to see if he’s had any car accidents on his record.” After receiving this private request, Lieutenant Lee ordered his subordinate to look into complainant Lee’s criminal record and thus, wrongfully acquired the files and then passed on to Ms. K some of the facts from the file.
When interviewed, Police Lieutenant Lee testified that though he was sorry for having slandered complainant Lee in the course of accessing the police file, he also wanted some consideration for his extenuating circumstances, namely, that he had accessed the police file and informed Ms. K about parts of the contents so that she could rethink her relationship with complainant Lee and for her own future.
Although the NHRC gave due consideration to Lieutenant Lee’s concern for Ms. K’s future, for a law enforcement officer to misuse his authority and acquire another person’s criminal record to then use that record without permission and for personal motives is a violation of the Act on the Lapse of Criminal Sentences and moreover constitutes a violation of article 17 of the Constitution (Right to Privacy). In light of the relative gravity of the case and extent to which the law was broken, the NHRC issued the recommendation for Police Lieutenant Lee to be disciplined.
