Supreme Court: Union Chairman Who Accessed Company Corporate Card Records Violates Real Name Financial Transaction Act

Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The labor union chairman who directly obtained and reviewed the company corporate card usage details from the card company was confirmed to receive a suspended prison sentence.

On the 30th, the Supreme Court Division 2 (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) announced that it upheld the original sentence of 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension for former Konkuk University labor union chairman Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and other charges. The court stated, "The lower court did not err in its interpretation of 'transaction information, etc.' under Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions."

Earlier, in April 2013, Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of requesting and receiving the corporate card usage statements of former Konkuk University President Mr. B and former school foundation chairman Mr. C from the card company call center, suspecting an inappropriate relationship between them. He was also indicted for spreading false information via email claiming that Mr. B and Mr. C had an improper relationship, such as playing golf and traveling abroad using the corporate card.

The first trial court found that Mr. A had no authority to obtain the corporate card usage details and ruled him guilty of violating the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions. Additionally, he was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment for defamation by spreading false information via email.

The second trial court acquitted him of the violation of the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and reduced the sentence to 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension. The court reasoned that although the corporate card usage details included transaction approval date and time, merchant name, and approved amount, this information was not subject to confidentiality protection under the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions.

However, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial and reconsideration of the case. The court pointed out, "According to Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions, information or data regarding the content of financial transactions must not be provided or disclosed to others," and "Credit card usage details pertain to obligations related to credit card payments and thus constitute information or data about financial transactions."

Accordingly, the retrial court found Mr. A guilty of violating the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions as well. However, the sentence remained the same as the pre-retrial appellate court: 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension. The Supreme Court's final review agreed with this judgment and dismissed Mr. A's appeal.

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