The High Commissioner's Crime Investigation Agency (Public Investigation Agency) expressed regret over the fact that it indiscriminately inquired communication data against journalists and politicians yesterday (24th).

It has been 19 days since lawyer Kim Jun-woo, who served as the deputy secretary general of the Lawyers Association for a Democratic Society, became controversial on the 5th on his Facebook page of the fact that he had searched for communication data from the Airborne Service.



It was confirmed by SBS report on the 23rd (23rd) that the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team also inquired correspondence data of reporters and lawyers.

The Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office seems to have conducted indiscriminate correspondence inquiries while investigating the case of the sexual assault and death of the late Sgt. Lee Ye-ram.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Ministry of National Defense said, "To the extent necessary for confirming the facts of suspect A, a warrant was legally issued by the military court, We have checked the communication data such as etc."



Suspect A, designated by the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team, is presumed to be a public affairs assistant at the Air Force Headquarters.

The senior sergeant of the late Lee Ye-ram was trying to inform that he was trying to help Lee, but the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office defined it as a 'distortion of the case' and indicted it.

If the suspect has been on the phone for four months, it seems that dozens of reporters, military officers, defense officials, family, friends, and acquaintances are covered.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defense Prosecutor's Office did not say a word of regret.



The beginning of communication data inquiry


So far, the people confirmed to have been inquired of the communication data by the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office are multiple reporters who frequently spoke to Officer A and the defense of the Air Force Headquarters Public Affairs Officer A.

Officer A was charged with abuse of power in relation to the case of Sergeant Ye-Ram Lee and is being tried.

Officer A's charges are as follows:



The start of this sergeant's case is the 1st perpetrator of sexual harassment by Sgt. Jang Mo and the 2nd perpetrator of the unit seniors.

In the midst of this, Sgt. Lee complained of injustice to his direct senior and explained the details of the incident, and this direct senior guided Sgt. Lee on how to severely punish Sgt. Jang.



The Air Force Headquarters Public Affairs Office tried to inform the outside of this at the time.

I thought no one had offered a helping hand to this sergeant, but since my direct senior acted with a good mind and good spirit, the need for publicity was considerable.

The Public Relations School was carrying out its public affairs mission.



However, the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office defined this as a distortion of the case and indicted two people, including A public affairs officer, on charges of abuse of power.

It is said that he abused his authority in the process of securing the transcript of the call between this sergeant and his direct senior.

The Ministry of National Defense's prosecution claims that they abused their powers to do things they were not obligated to do or obstructed the exercise of their rights.


Why did you look up communication data?


The people confirmed so far that the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office inquired the communication data are Officer A's lawyers and reporters.

All of them are people who identified the actions of Officer A as normal public affairs activities.

In other words, they are the people who stand on the other side of the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team, which they accused of distorting the case.

So, suspicion arises as to whether the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team was interfering with the accurate story of the case from being known outside, or whether it was inquiring into communication data to investigate it.



If the explanation of the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of National Defense regarding the question of whether the communication data of a specific person was inquired for a specific purpose as it is, it is "It is impossible to verify the identity or occupation of the subscriber only with the subscriber information."

If you weren't looking for identities and occupations, i.e., who they were, what on earth did you collect the detailed personal information of innocent people for?

The clarification of the Ministry of National Defense and the Prosecutor's Office sounds to mean that they collected personal information by simply inquiring communication data for no reason.



The Pentagon Prosecutor's Office is no longer speaking.

The reporter called Choi Kwang-hyeok, the head of the Prosecutor's Office several times yesterday and the day before, and left a text message, but there was no answer.

The Ministry of National Defense is in a situation where it has to instruct the prosecution team to organize its specific position, but it has shut its mouth at the same time.



Prosecutor's office looking like someone else's business


A number of Ministry of National Defense and military officials say that the target of the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office's inquiry into the communication data was not limited to the person who spokesperson A spoke on the phone.

In other words, it is highly likely that the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team is piling up sensitive personal information such as names and phone numbers as well as resident registration numbers and addresses like a mountain by inquiring a lot of communication data of people called by suspect B, suspect C, and suspect D.

In a day or two, we can find relevant evidence.



At this point, the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team should at least express regret like the Air Airborne Service.

However, the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team is very stingy in this direction.

The suspect, who was previously arrested in the case of the late Sergeant Lee, made an extreme choice at the Pentagon detention facility, but the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office did not express any regrets even then.

When the reporter asked, he reluctantly said "I'm sorry" in a KakaoTalk message.



The head of the Prosecutor's Office of the Ministry of National Defense has already delivered to the reporter on the 22nd that there is no reason to be sorry for this incident.

Unlike the Air Airborne Service, the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team probably does not express any regrets and will continue to inquire about communication data indiscriminately, saying that it is legal in the future.

I beg the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office to thoroughly destroy the communications inquiry data of innocent people after the investigation is over.