"Concerns Over Basic Rights Restrictions Due to Security App Installation"... National Human Rights Commission Recommends Ministry of National Defense to Revise Directive
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has recommended that the Ministry of National Defense establish a legal basis allowing it to mandate the installation of the 'Defense Mobile Security App' to prevent excessive restrictions on the mobile phone functions of military personnel.
On the 21st, the NHRCK announced that it recommended the Ministry of National Defense to specify a legal basis in the Military Secrets Protection Act to enforce the installation of the security app and to revise the military directive to limit installation only to essential personnel and locations.
Recently, the NHRCK received complaints that the Ministry of National Defense was obligating soldiers unrelated to military security duties to install the security app and was infringing on their fundamental rights by checking their mobile phone log records.
According to the NHRCK's investigation, the Ministry of National Defense established a basis for installing the security app through the revision of the Defense Security Work Directive in December last year. Soldiers, officers, and civilians bringing mobile phones into military facilities must comply with the security control system. However, it was confirmed that there was no consideration to reflect a legal basis clause in the Military Secrets Protection Act, which is a law rather than a directive.
Furthermore, the NHRCK viewed as problematic that the directive does not clearly limit the subjects and locations for the security app installation. The NHRCK judged that enforcing the installation of the security app could restrict the fundamental rights of those entering military units and that a legal basis clause should be established.
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The NHRCK explained, "If the installation of the security app is uniformly enforced on general soldiers unrelated to secrets or civilians entering the unit for other purposes, it could excessively restrict fundamental rights. We recommended revising the directive to limit the installation to essential personnel and locations and to specify the installation basis in the law."
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