In the first half of this year, the number of communication fact confirmation materials submitted by telecommunications companies to investigative agencies increased by 15.3% compared to the same period last year. The number of cooperation cases for communication restriction measures also slightly increased. In contrast, the number of communication user information provided saw a significant decrease.
On the 27th, the Ministry of Science and ICT compiled and released the status of communication user information, communication fact confirmation materials, and cooperation with communication restriction measures submitted by 105 telecommunications providers (70 major telecommunications companies and 35 value-added telecommunications companies) for the first half of this year. "Communication fact confirmation materials" refer to the facts of a call, such as the opposite party's phone number, the date and time of the call, and the duration of the call, as well as internet log records, access location data (IP Address), and originating base station location tracking data.
Investigative agencies that require such data for investigation or execution of sentences can only request it from telecommunications companies upon receiving permission from the court according to the requirements and procedures set forth in the Communication Privacy Protection Act.
In the first half of the year, the number of communication fact confirmation materials provided to the prosecution, police, National Intelligence Service, and other agencies was 293,112, which is an increase of 15.3% (38,922 cases) based on the number of phone numbers compared to the same period last year. In the case of 'communication restriction measures' aimed at the content of communications, such as voice call details and emails, investigative agencies must also obtain court permission to proceed in accordance with the requirements and procedures established by the Communication Privacy Protection Act.
Such communication restriction measures are limited to serious crimes, such as crimes against public order and crimes related to explosives, as defined by the Communication Privacy Protection Act, and are conducted under even stricter restrictions than the provision of communication fact confirmation materials.
In the first half of this year, the number of communication restriction measures carried out by the National Intelligence Service and others was 5,278, representing an increase of 8.9% (433 cases) based on the number of phone numbers compared to the same period last year. "Communication user information" includes basic personal information of communication service users such as name, resident registration number, address, subscription and cancellation dates, phone numbers, and identification (ID) numbers. Investigative agencies request this information via official documents from telecommunications companies under the Telecommunications Business Act (Article 83) for prompt criminal investigations, such as confirming voice phishing or kidnapping victims.
In the first half of this year, the number of communication user information provided to the prosecution, police, National Intelligence Service, and other agencies was 1,361,118, a decrease of 43.7% (1,057,550 cases) based on the number of phone numbers compared to the same period last year.