2.562 Million Communication Records Submitted to Investigative Agencies in Second Half of Last Year... 10.3% Decrease Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The telecommunications data submitted by telecom companies to investigative agencies in the second half of last year decreased by 10.3% compared to the previous year.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the 'Second Half of 2020 Telecommunications Data and Communication Fact Confirmation Data' submitted by a total of 72 telecommunications operators, including 45 period telecommunications operators and 27 value-added telecommunications operators.

Telecommunications data refers to personal information such as the names and resident registration numbers of subscribers to communication services including wired, wireless, and internet. Investigative agencies request this data by official documents under the Telecommunications Business Act for prompt criminal investigations such as voice phishing or identifying kidnapping victims, and obtain it from telecommunications operators.

The telecommunications data provided to investigative agencies such as the prosecution, police, and National Intelligence Service in the second half of 2020 amounted to 2,562,535 cases based on phone numbers, a 10.3% decrease compared to the same period last year.

During the same period, communication fact confirmation data totaled 217,017 cases, down 12.3% from the previous year. Communication fact confirmation data refers to communication details such as the date and time of calls or text transmissions, call duration, and the location of the originating base station, rather than the content of the communication. Investigative agencies can receive communication fact confirmation data from telecom companies with court approval according to required conditions and procedures.

The number of telecommunications restriction measures targeting communication content such as voice call contents and emails was 2,358 cases, 5 fewer than the same period last year based on phone numbers. Telecommunications restriction measures are subject to stricter limitations than the provision of communication fact confirmation data, as they are limited under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act to serious crimes such as treason and crimes involving explosives.

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