The Effectiveness of Personal Information Disclosure

  Personal information disclosure refers to revealing a suspect’s identity and face when relevant standards are met in the Punishment Act of the Republic of Korea. There was a case in which a suspect’s identity was disclosed due to a murder at Seoul’s Sindang Station on September 14. Public opinion began to fluctuate as the disclosure proceeded because the suspect’s photo released by police and the suspect’s real-life appearance at court on September 21 contradicted each other.
  The police released a photo of the suspect’s ID, People responded, “Do not think I would know even if I ran into them on the street.” Therefore, people began to discuss the effects of disclosing personal information. Why is there a difference between the photos released by police and the actual images released to the public?
  Since the end of 2019, police have distributed ID images and current suspect court photos. However, if the suspect agrees, they can take a mug shot of their current appearance and disclose it. If the party refuses, the suspect’s ID image will be released.
  According to data submitted by the National Police Agency on October 2, 18 suspect ID images were made public in the past two years. Among the disclosed suspects, only one suspect agreed to the mug shot.
  In addition, when asked about the ID image dates, the police replied, “They have not been properly confirmed.” This means that photos whose filming date has not been confirmed were released for the purpose of disclosing the suspect’s identity. In other words, it means that the law on the disclosure of the suspect’s identity is not clearly prescribed. It is stipulated that disclosing personal information allows for cases such as faces when the standards are met. The police also answered that they had no option but to use an ID registered in the national system. Therefore, the government needs to reach a social consensus as such personal information disclosure problems continue to arise. For example, to establish a new system, such as allowing mug shots without consent.