Civil petitioners's data leaked

[Anchor]

The personal information of citizens who requested information disclosure is not only not being protected but is also being leaked to stakeholders.

The confirmed cases are not just one or two.

Public officials have used this personal information to coerce or protest against the citizens.

Reporter Kim Woo-jun has the exclusive coverage.

[Report]

Park Jong-hyo, the mayor of Incheon Namdong-gu, had dinner with over 70 people, including district council members, at this seafood restaurant during the festival period at the end of September last year.

The meal cost of 3.9 million won was paid for by the festival organizing company, not the district office.

Citizen Choi Dong-gil requested the district office to disclose related expenditure details two months later to confirm the controversy over the meal payment.

However, a week later, a call came from Director A, a close aide to the mayor.

[Choi Dong-gil/Information Disclosure Requester: "I was surprised to receive a call from an unknown phone number and asked who it was, and they said they were the director of Namdong-gu. They still wanted to meet..."]

During the actual meeting, Director A made an unexpected remark.

[Incheon Namdong-gu Director A/Dec. 15, 2024/Voice Altered: "I really ask you. Please don't think of this as coercion, just consider it. I won't forget your kindness."]

The personal information of the citizen who requested information disclosure was used to coerce the cancellation of the request.

Such 'leakage of personal information' is a clear illegal act.

In December 2023, it was revealed that public officials at Yuseong-gu Office and Daedeok-gu Office in Daejeon had transmitted the personal information of citizens who requested information disclosure via internal messenger, leading to an official apology.

In June last year, a public official from the Seongbuk-gu Council in Seoul was fined 500,000 won for sending a threatening text message to a citizen who requested the disclosure of their business trip details.

[Kim Min-ho/Professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School: "Public offices that collect and process sensitive personal information should especially handle citizens' personal information carefully according to the law."]

As the issue of personal information leakage in local governments continues to recur, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it would strengthen security training for public institutions nationwide.

KBS News, Kim Woo-jun.