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Disclosure of personal information of an inmate by a prison officer [2008] KRNHRC 29 (1 August 2008)

On August 1, 2008, Hwang filed a complaint with the Commission that a prison officer
working at the OO Prison gave his personal information (prisoner number, picture, charge,
release date) obtained from the computer system of the prison to Park, who was confined
in another prison, in June 2008, helping Park send the complainant a threatening letter.
After an investigation, the Commission confirmed that the prison officer gave Park a
detailed criminal record of the complainant and information on where the complainant was
serving, without approval from his manager, and that Park sent the complainant a
threatening letter containing personal information of the complainant. In addition, it
discovered that personal information of the complainant was also disclosed to other
inmates during the transferring of the information and threat letter.

The Rules on the Duties of Prison Officers stipulates that a prison officer may have
access to personal documents of inmates including identity cards and inmates list for
public interest, only with approval from his or her manager. In other words, the rules
strictly prohibit prison officers from accessing personal information of inmates, unless they
have to access the information in the interests of the public.

Considering that the criminal record of the complainant was not information easily
accessed by inmates, the Commission concluded that the respondent violated the right to
privacy and freedom specified in Article 17 of the Constitution by disclosing the
complainant's personal information to Park. It also recommended that the Prison
come up with measures to prevent recurrences of similar incidents.