The Trainee's Empty Seat... Senior Lawyer Who Extracted KakaoTalk Messages Between Her and Her Boyfriend

"Excuse of 'Attempting to Confirm Work-Related Confidential Information Leak'"
Court Sentences to 6 Months Imprisonment

A senior lawyer who secretly extracted KakaoTalk messenger conversations between a trainee lawyer and her boyfriend was sentenced to imprisonment.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, recently, Judge Chae Hee-in of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced lawyer A (37), who was indicted for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (Information and Communications Network Infringement, etc.), to six months in prison.

On August 26 of last year, A transferred three months' worth of KakaoTalk conversations between the trainee lawyer victim B and her boyfriend, from May to August of the same year, to his own mobile phone using the 'Export Chat' function at a law firm office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. At that time, B was reportedly logged into KakaoTalk messenger on her computer and had briefly left her seat.

During the trial, A claimed, "I checked the conversation content to verify whether trainee lawyer B had leaked work-related secrets." However, the court did not accept this claim.

The court stated, "The defendant never made such a claim to the investigative authorities and only newly asserted it after requesting to view the conversation content before the court. Considering the relationship between the defendant and the victim and the defendant's character as shown in other records, the court cannot accept the defendant's claim."

It added, "(The conversation content) contained a large amount of the victim's extremely private information, including the home password, which must never be infringed or disclosed," and "Nevertheless, the defendant continues to make unconvincing excuses and only shows an eagerness to avoid responsibility." The court further noted, "Transmitting private conversations exchanged via KakaoTalk using the export chat function constitutes an act of infringing and disclosing another person's secrets processed, stored, and transmitted through an information and communications network."

The judgment also noted that during the trial, despite the judge's admonitions, A repeatedly asked B insulting and defamatory questions.

Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "Due to the defendant's excuses, the victim was forced to appear in court as a witness and testify about the defendant's motive for the crime," and "B, who works in the same industry, has petitioned for severe punishment, citing severe mental distress. Considering that A is a lawyer with a mission to realize social justice but did not seek forgiveness and showed a weak sense of legal compliance, the court took these factors into account."

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