Social Service Agents Face Up to 5 Years Imprisonment for Personal Information Leakage

Ministry of the Interior and Safety-Military Manpower Administration Joint Improvement Plan
Strengthening Service Management and Improving Workforce Utilization

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Measures are being proposed to impose up to 5 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million KRW if social service agents unlawfully access, view, or leak personal information.

On the morning of the 12th, the government held the 7th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting at the Government Sejong Complex and reviewed and finalized the "Improvement Plan for Managing Personal Information of Civil Petitioners," which includes these measures. This was prompted by the recent case in the "Telegram Nth Room" incident, where social service agents illegally accessed and leaked personal information.

The government decided to introduce a dual protection system that restricts social service agents' access to personal information and monitors it periodically. Access rights to information systems for public officials, etc., cannot be shared, transferred, or lent to social service agents, and violations will be strictly punished with up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million KRW (Article 76 of the Electronic Government Act). In principle, social service agents are prohibited from accessing information systems, and limited access will only be allowed after ensuring safety measures such as de-identification and encryption, with approval from the head of the service institution.

If a social service agent unlawfully accesses or views personal information, a warning will be issued for the first offense, but repeated offenses will result in prosecution. In cases of leaking personal information, immediate prosecution will be pursued. In particular, regarding personal information leaks, the Military Service Act, which previously only imposed warnings (5-day service extension), will be amended to introduce penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment or fines up to 50 million KRW.

Regarding service institutions where social service agents have worked, strict measures will be taken according to relevant laws if unauthorized persons are allowed to handle personal information or if obligations for personal information protection safety measures are violated. Additionally, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Military Manpower Administration, and local governments will regularly inspect personal information handling practices and strengthen monitoring functions of information systems.

The number of administrative support social service agents, who are at high risk of personal information leaks, will be gradually reduced from the current 33.7% to about 22% by 2024. Current administrative support personnel will be reviewed for necessity and then converted or reassigned to fields such as social welfare and disaster response.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Jin Young said, "We will prevent the leakage of civil petitioners' personal information in advance and respond strictly to violations of personal information protection obligations. We will make multifaceted efforts together with related ministries to ensure that personal information is thoroughly protected during the civil petition process."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.