Last year, the identities of 12 suspects in designated serious crimes were made public. The identities disclosed included Kim Nok-wan (33), the ringleader of the cybersex crime group "vigilante," and Myeong Jae-wan (48), who killed a student at the elementary school where he worked in Daejeon. The disclosure of 12 people in a single year was the highest since the identity disclosure system was introduced.
A bill was recently introduced in the National Assembly to add fraud to the designated serious crimes for which personal information is disclosed. People Power Party lawmaker Kang Myeong-gu on the 9th led the introduction of an amendment to the Act on Disclosure of Personal Information of Suspects of Designated Serious Crimes. Twelve People Power Party lawmakers, including Kang, joined in proposing the bill.
Currently, identity disclosure is carried out only for sex offenders or suspects in designated serious crimes. Among these, designated serious crimes are limited to organizing a criminal group, using explosives, causing injury or committing assault, and drug-related crimes. Although 12 identities were disclosed last year, decisions to disclose in designated serious crime cases are not common, totaling only 41 from 2010 to 2023.
Kang Myeong-gu says identity disclosure is essential given the severity of fraud crimes. Introducing the amendment, Kang said, "Fraud crimes such as voice phishing and pyramid schemes are increasing by the day, and the amounts of damage and the number of victims are often large," and noted, "Fraud crimes need to be included among those subject to identity disclosure."
In fact, fraud crimes are worsening every year. According to the Korean National Police Agency, the number of fraud cases rose from 294,075 in 2021 to 421,421 in 2024. The fraud incidence rate per 100,000 people is 637.4 cases, among the highest in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
As serious as the incidence rate is the amount of damage from fraud. The damage from fraud rose from 15.0844 trillion won in 2021 to 28.1353 trillion won in 2024, nearly doubling. In contrast, the arrest rate remains in the low 60% range.
Kang emphasizes that identity disclosure is highly effective in preventing fraud. Kang said, "Fraud crimes have a high risk of recidivism, and the preventive effect through identity disclosure is much greater than for other crimes," and added, "We need to prevent fraud through identity disclosure and protect the property rights of the public."
For the bill expanding identity disclosure to fraud to pass the National Assembly, consent from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is needed. Because only People Power Party lawmakers joined the amendment introduced to The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the ruling party's consent is essential. Within the Democratic Party of Korea, former lawmaker Park Jae-ho previously introduced legislation in 2020 to disclose personal information in habitual cases or when the fraud amount is 5 billion won or more.
Public opinion leans toward expanding identity disclosure. In a 2023 survey by the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, 94.3% of respondents said "the scope of crimes subject to personal information disclosure should be expanded."