Neglected COVID-19 Paper Logs... Personal Information at Risk of Leakage

Left at the entrance and neglected
The registry with name entry remains unchanged
Management responsibility lies with the facility manager

A handwritten register is placed on the outdoor table of the restaurant. Photo by Lee Jung-yoon leejuyoo@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the afternoon of the 31st, at a restaurant near Seoul National University of Education Station. Here, the handwritten logbook used for entry was carelessly left unattended. Although it contained personal information such as phone numbers, the logbook was placed on an outdoor table of the restaurant. Inside the restaurant, it was difficult to check who was writing in the logbook or if someone was pretending to write while looking at the contents. Therefore, the possibility of information leakage to the outside seemed high, but the staff and owner were busy with serving and preparing deliveries, and no management was carried out.

The handwritten logbook, written for COVID-19 quarantine measures, is not being properly managed. The logbook is left unattended at the entrance, far from the counter. Although the use of Safe Call, which records entry logs through QR check-in and phone calls, is increasing, handwritten logbooks are still used for elderly people who are not familiar with the usage. The government guideline stating that "the facility manager is responsible for managing the personal information recorded in the handwritten logbook and must take full responsibility to prevent leakage" is not being followed.

The situation was similar at a cafe located near Gangnam Station. The logbook and pen were placed at the entrance, and the staff were focused only on attending to customers. They did not check who was filling out the logbook or using QR check-in at all. A cafe employee said, "We placed the logbook at the entrance, which is separate from the counter, so customers can write when entering the store," adding, "When it’s busy, it’s difficult to pay attention to the logbook as well." This was in contrast to another nearby restaurant that only took out the logbook to hand it to customers when they were writing. Because the logbook management is neglected like this, posts have appeared online saying they received promotional messages after filling out the logbook.

Since September last year, it has been advised not to write sensitive information such as names in the handwritten logbook, but some establishments still require it. A cafe near Euljiro 3-ga Station in Jung-gu required names to be written when filling out the logbook. Another cafe in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, had both phone numbers and full names written in the logbook. These two places also placed the logbooks in locations where staff management was difficult. Experts explain that using QR check-in and similar methods is the way to protect valuable personal information. Professor Lim Jong-in of Korea University Graduate School of Information Security said, "Because personal information is written in the handwritten logbook, owners and others must make efforts to manage it," adding, "It is desirable for people entering to use QR check-in or Safe Call as much as possible, and the government needs to verify whether the collected information is properly managed or destroyed."

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