The Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chairperson Byungchul Hyun) has held that the act by command sergeant majors of asking non-commissioned officers to submit personal financial information, keeping in storage for debt inspection is tantamount to human rights violation, and therefore recommends:
The Commander of the ○th Korean Army to refer this case to subordinate units to prevent recurrence and improve customs.
Petitioners A and B, non-commissioned officers from a subordinate unit of the ○th Korean Army Headquarters submitted a claim on 2012. 11. 29. before the NHRCK for allegations that "previous and current command sergeant majors conducted series of excessive inspections on current debt status of non-commissioned officers three to four times in the year of 2012 which violated privacy rights."
Current command sergeant major C has argued that private financial information was requested to prevent recurring monetary accidents among non-commissioned officers. He argued that it was not forced, and those who did not submit the information was subject to no disadvantage.
An Officially Handed-down Custom, Compulsion of which cannot be Disregarded
Article 17 of the Korean Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to secrecy and privacy, and Article 10 guarantees freedom of action, derived from freedom to general behavior, pursuant to the right to pursue happiness.
The investigation conducted by the Commission revealed that command sergeant major C has directly requested fifty-three non-commissioned officers to submit information on current status of debts, savings account, income statements, credit statements, and private loan statements and other personal financial information via email, two times since November 23, 2012. It has also been shown that 47 out of 53 aforementioned non-commissioned officers have submitted relevant information following the instructions, with no disadvantages imposed on the remaining 6 officers.
The Commission has found that such exchange of financial information of non-commissioned officials have persisted even before the appointment of C as current command sergeant major. Also, command sergeant major C has reported to superiors on the matter and registered submitted documents to the army administrative integrated system. Based on these facts, it has been concluded that it was a 'customary practice on a public level that persisted in the unit.'
Also, the Commission noted that compulsion cannot be disregarded in terms of how information was requested since 47 out 53 (approximately 88.7%) have actually submitted, and since rank distinction in units between non-commissioned officers were important.
Violation of the Principle of Proportionality
In particular, the Commission has held that conducting review on status of debts, even though there were other ways to identify problems and prevent monetary accidents through preliminary/regular training sessions and personal interviews, has further violated the principle of proportionality.
In conclusion, the Commission recommended the Commander of the ○th Korean Army to take necessary measures to prevent recurrence and improve practices persisting in units in question.
End.
