List of 151 Unmarried Female Public Officials... Seongnam Public Official Sentenced to Prison in Second Trial

12 Pages A4, Including Photos, Names, Ages, and Positions
Prosecutors: "Unauthorized Disclosure of Personal Information is a Serious Offense"

The prosecution has requested a prison sentence in the appellate trial for public officials who were sentenced to probation in the first trial for creating a list of personal information of 151 unmarried female public officials working in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, and leaking it for private purposes.

(This photo is not directly related to the article) [Photo source=Pixabay]

The 7th Criminal Appeals Division of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Byung-soo) held the appellate trial sentencing hearing on the 18th for two public officials, A and B, from Seongnam City Hall, on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

A worked in the personnel-related department and created the document under the direction of B, a superior from another department whom A knew personally. While working as public officials in Seongnam City in 2019, A and B were prosecuted for creating a "List of Unmarried Female Public Officials" containing personal information such as photos, names, ages, and ranks of 151 unmarried female public officials aged 31 to 37, after C, a secretary in the mayor’s secretariat, learned of their unmarried status and passed the information to C. The document consisted of 12 pages of A4 paper.

This fact came to light when C, who resigned in March 2020, filed a public interest report to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in August last year. In the report, C claimed, "It was a document of flattering hospitality directed at me, who was serving as a secretary in the mayor’s secretariat, a core department of city power."

The first trial court stated, "The defendants abused their official authority to provide personal information of their fellow public officials without permission, causing mental distress, wounds, shock, and damaged trust among their colleagues. Considering these, the defendants’ guilt is serious and requires corresponding punishment."

Accordingly, A was sentenced to six months in prison with two years of probation, and B was sentenced to one year in prison with three years of probation. The prosecution stated, "The defendants’ crimes involved abusing their official authority to provide personal information of fellow public officials without permission, and the nature of the crime is not light," as the reason for their sentencing request.

Subsequently, the prosecution appealed, arguing that the sentences were too light, while A and B also appealed, claiming the sentences were too heavy and unfair.

At the appellate trial sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested six months imprisonment for A and one year imprisonment for B, stating, "The defendants abused their official authority to provide public officials’ personal information without permission, making the crime serious and the nature of the offense not light. Please impose sentences corresponding to the gravity of the crime."

In their final defense, A’s and others’ lawyers said, "The defendants deeply regret the crime and fully acknowledge their responsibility. However, since the defendants did not gain any benefit from creating the list and the affected female public officials submitted petitions for leniency, we ask for leniency."

In his final statement, A said, "I sincerely apologize for my wrongful actions, ask for forgiveness from the victims, and will reflect on my actions." B also said, "I deeply regret my actions based on careless judgment."

The second trial sentencing for A and others will be held at 2 p.m. on June 12.

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