Case on the Interception of Internet Lines
[2016Hun-Ma263, August 30, 2018]
In this case, the Court held that Article 5 Section 2 of the Protection
of Communications Secrets Act which provides a legal basis for the
so-called “packet interception,” the interception of telecommunications
transmitted and received through Internet lines, infringes on the secrecy
and freedom of communications and privacy of the Complainant, and
thus is in violation of the Constitution.
Background of the Case
The director of the National Intelligence Service (“NIS”) executed the
communication-restriction measures 35 times with respect to the
telecommunications made by a person named ___, including his mobile
phone and Internet line, to investigate his alleged violation of the
National Security Act pursuant to the permission granted by the court.
Among such measures were those executed six times from October 9,
2013, to April 28, 2015, with respect to the Internet line purchased in
the name of the Complainant. Such six measures were the so-called
“packet interception” through which State investigative agencies capture
a “packet,” a unit of data split into small pieces in the form of electrical
signals to transmit information through the Internet, and learn the content
thereof.
The Complainant filed this constitutional complaint, claiming that the
permission for the communication-restriction measures granted by the
court, the interception conducted by the director of NIS under such
permission, and Article 5 Section 2 of the Protection of Communications
Secrets Act infringed the Complainant’s fundamental rights, including the
secrecy and freedom of communications and privacy, and violated the
warrant requirement and the due process of law stipulated by the
Constitution.
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