"Personal Information Submitted by Telecom Companies to Investigative Agencies Down 12.4% YoY in First Half of This Year"

Ministry of Science and ICT Announces 2021 First Half Year Statistics

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] In the first half of this year, the number of communication data such as personal phone numbers and IDs submitted by telecommunications companies at the request of investigative agencies was about 2.56 million, showing a 12.4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 24th the aggregate of 'First Half of 2021 Communication Data and Communication Fact Confirmation Data' submitted by a total of 75 telecommunications operators, including 45 period telecommunications operators and 30 value-added telecommunications operators.

The number of communication data provided by telecommunications operators to investigative agencies was 2,559,439 based on phone numbers and 491,126 based on documents. Based on phone numbers, the prosecution decreased by 405,791 cases, the National Intelligence Service by 4,506 cases, and other agencies by 6,207 cases respectively, while the police increased by 53,426 cases, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was newly included with 135 cases.

Communication data refers to personal information such as the name and resident registration number of subscribers to communication services including wired, wireless, and internet. Investigative agencies can request communication data from telecommunications companies via official documents for criminal investigations such as voice phishing or identifying kidnapping victims.

The communication fact confirmation data provided to investigative agencies in the first half of this year was 240,983 cases, a 0.3% decrease compared to the same period last year. Based on phone numbers, the prosecution decreased by 30,639 cases, the National Intelligence Service by 28 cases, and other agencies by 806 cases respectively, while the police increased by 29,119 cases, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was newly included with 21 cases.

Communication fact confirmation data refers not to the content of communications but to communication details such as the date and time of calls or text transmissions, call duration, and the location of the originating base station. Investigative agencies can receive communication fact confirmation data from telecommunications companies with court approval according to required conditions and procedures.

The number of communication restriction measures was 4,656 cases, a 1.8% increase compared to the same period last year based on phone numbers. Communication restriction measures are defined under the Communications Privacy Protection Act as applicable to serious crimes such as treason and crimes related to explosives. The restriction measures requested by the National Intelligence Service increased by 84 cases compared to the previous year, recording 4,656 cases.

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