[Summary] "A line that must not be crossed..." Chu's 'Off-duty Disclosure Law' Criticized as Excessive Even by the Ruling Party

Park Beom-gye "Democratic Party, a Party Prioritizing Individual Human Rights"
"Points Out Lack of National Consensus"

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is responding at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 16th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Criticism has emerged among ruling party lawmakers regarding the so-called 'Suspect's Mobile Phone Password Disclosure Bill,' which Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae had instructed to consider introducing, calling it "excessive."

Park Sung-min, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on KBS's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' on the morning of the 16th and began by saying, "I think the content advocated by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is somewhat excessive."

Park said, "I have reviewed whether it aligns with the Constitution, and there are parts that do not," pointing out, "In the Republic of Korea, the right not to make self-incriminating statements is fundamentally presumed." This is interpreted as a concern that forcing suspects to disclose their mobile phone passwords could infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed right to refuse testimony.

He added, "There is a boundary that should not be crossed beyond constitutional values," and "From that perspective, I believe this issue is currently being discussed somewhat excessively."

Park Beom-gye, a lawmaker from the same party, also criticized in a CBS radio interview that day, saying, "The Democratic Party has traditionally prioritized individual human rights," and "From that standpoint, the part mentioned by Minister Choo has yet to gain sufficient public consensus, especially among Democratic Party supporters."

Park Beom-gye, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 12th, Minister Choo had announced that she instructed the Ministry of Justice to consider enacting a law that, under certain conditions such as a court order, would compel suspects to disclose their mobile phone passwords and impose sanctions for non-compliance, referencing foreign legislation, in cases like that of Han Dong-hoon, a research fellow at the Judicial Research and Training Institute and a suspect in the 'Channel A' case, where suspects maliciously hide their phone passwords and obstruct investigations.

However, her directive drew criticism from political circles and civic groups such as the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), who labeled it an 'unconstitutional idea.'

In response, Minister Choo wrote on her Facebook, "Even in the 'Rule of Law' country, the United Kingdom, such a system is already in place," and "Human rights countries like France, the Netherlands, and Australia have laws that punish failure to comply with requests for password decryption or decoding."

Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Justice / Photo by Yonhap News

She emphasized, "We must also develop criminal law systems for the digital age while harmonizing with the constitutional principle of protection against self-incrimination."

However, as controversy over the bill grew, Minister Choo took a step back on the 16th, stating it was at the "research stage."

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that day, in response to People's Power lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye's question, "Will you push for the enactment of the password disclosure law?" Minister Choo replied, "I did not mention a bill," explaining, "In the digital age, if internal information is managed with passwords on servers overseas, even with a search warrant, crimes cannot be uncovered."

She clarified, "It was a research phase to prepare for the digital age."

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