In the second half of last year, the number of communication user information requested by investigative agencies decreased by 41% compared to the previous year.
According to the '2024 second half status of communication user information and communication fact confirmation data provision' announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 18th, the number of communication user information provided to the prosecution, police, National Intelligence Service, and other agencies decreased by 906,518 cases (2,212,642 → 1,306,124 cases) compared to the same period last year based on the number of phone numbers.
Communication user information includes basic personal information such as user name, resident registration number, address, subscription and cancellation dates, phone number, and ID, which investigative agencies request through official documents to conduct criminal investigations.
By agency, the prosecution had 472,898 cases, the police 431,151 cases, and other agencies (Ministry of Employment and Labor, National Tax Service, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, etc.) saw a decrease of 7,988 cases. The National Intelligence Service and CIO increased by 3,588 cases and 1,931 cases, respectively.
Based on the number of documents, the prosecution decreased by 22,163 cases, the police by 44,450 cases, and other agencies decreased by 2,978 cases, while the National Intelligence Service and CIO increased by 118 cases and 13 cases, respectively.
The number of cases providing 'communication fact confirmation data', including the phone numbers of call counterparts and call times, also decreased by 4,448 cases (1.7%) compared to the same period last year based on the number of phone numbers.
By agency, the prosecution decreased by 14,566 cases, while the police (7,649 cases), National Intelligence Service (1,461 cases), CIO (43 cases), and other agencies (965 cases) increased. In terms of the number of documents, the prosecution decreased by 3,954 cases, while the police (19,164 cases), National Intelligence Service (40 cases), CIO (55 cases), and other agencies (517 cases) increased.
The number of 'communication restriction measures' cases that receive voice call content and email and other communication content increased by 224 cases (2,517 cases → 2,741 cases) based on the number of phone numbers, and by 5 cases (26 cases → 31 cases) based on the number of documents. By agency, the National Intelligence Service had 204 cases and the police had 20 cases.