Ministry of Justice, Prosecution, and Public Corruption Investigation Office Discuss 'Telecommunication Data Collection' Amendment Direction Today

Kim Ki-hyun, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, and Lim Tae-hee, Chief of the General Situation Headquarters of the Election Committee, are holding a document containing the status of communication record inquiries while answering reporters' questions after an emergency press conference related to the Corruption Investigation Office at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the 29th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] About 10 working-level officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor's Office, and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Department (Gongu-cheo) gathered on the afternoon of the 3rd at the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) to discuss the direction of amendments to the telecommunications data collection system, which was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

The working-level officials are scheduled to hold a meeting chaired by Park Cheol, Director of the Telecommunications Resource Policy Division at MSIT, at a location in Seoul.

This follows the Constitutional Court's decision last month that telecommunications service providers must notify subscribers afterward if they provide personal information such as the subscriber's name and resident registration number to investigative or intelligence agencies. MSIT, as the competent ministry responsible for the Telecommunications Business Act, which was ruled unconstitutional, convened this meeting.

The meeting is intended to listen to practical difficulties each agency faces regarding telecommunications data collection and notification, so it is unlikely that specific directions will be established.

The participating agencies are expected to hold several meetings in the future to conduct legal reviews and coordinate internally and externally, ultimately deriving a government-level direction for amendments.

Earlier, on the 21st of last month, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled the unconstitutionality of Article 83, Paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Business Act in four constitutional complaints.

The constitutional incompatibility decision acknowledges the unconstitutionality of the legal provisions but allows them to remain in effect for a set period. This prevents confusion that would arise if the law were immediately invalidated and allows legislators to enact substitute legislation or amendments. In this case, if the law is not amended by December 31 of next year, the provisions under review will lose their effect.

Typically, when a constitutional incompatibility decision is made, the government reflects the Constitutional Court's intent and gathers opinions from related ministries to create a single amendment bill, which is then promoted as government or parliamentary legislation within the deadline to supplement the system.

The provisions of the Telecommunications Business Act under review stipulate that courts, prosecutors, or heads of investigative agencies may request telecommunications service providers to view and submit telecommunications data for investigation, trial, execution of sentences, or information collection, and providers may comply with such requests.

The Constitutional Court pointed out, "When there is a request for telecommunications data provision, the information subject, i.e., the user, is not notified in advance that such a request was made, and even when telecommunications service providers (mobile carriers) provide telecommunications data to investigative agencies, this fact is not separately notified to the user," adding, "It is not that the acquisition of telecommunications data itself violates the Constitution, but the failure to establish a post-notification procedure for telecommunications data acquisition violates the Constitution."

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