hankyoreh

By Choi Yu-bin, staff reporter

In 2012 with a presidential election, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) carried out 99% of all wiretapping with the help of telecom companies, according to data provided by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning and Jinbo Network Center on May 13. NIS wiretapping could actually be more extensive than expected, as wiretapping carried out by the NIS using its own equipment has not yet been considered.

There were 2,236 landlines tapped in the second half of last year. The investigative agencies, which include the NIS, the police, the military investigation service, and the prosecutors carried out the wiretapping with the help of telecom companies.

The NIS tapped 2,213 phones - 99% of the total. The police tapped 20 and 3 were tapped by the military investigation service. The prosecutors weren’t responsible for any of them. The data was collected by analyzing the official reports of several telecom firms.

In the second half of 2011, 2,555 phones were tapped, meaning the number decreased by 12.5% in 2012. But the fact that the NIS tapped more phones than any other investigative agencies in a year with a presidential election is the alarming part.

Besides the wiretapping, the amount of communication and personal data demanded by the NIS and other investigative agencies from the telecom companies increased significantly over last year.

The communication data consist of the call receiver’s phone number, the date and time of the call, and the internet log record. In 2012, the confirmation data provided to the NIS and other investigative agencies amounted to 22,471 for wired landlines, 75,031 for mobile phones, and 22,500 for online connections. The total was 120,002. The number was 111,058 in 2011, which means it increased by 8.1% in 2012. In order to receive the confirmation data, the investigative agencies need permission from the court, but in urgent cases, the data can be accessed with just a letter of request.

In 2012, the total communication data given to the investigative agencies by the communication services increased from 324,000 in 2011 to 425,739 in 2012. The number had increased by 31.2%. Communication data is personal information including the user’s name, resident registration number, address, the date of subscription and cancellation, phone number and ID. The number of phone number given to the agencies increased by 53.7% last year, as it increased from 2,617,382 in 2011 to 4,023,231 in 2012.

The investigative agencies can access the communication data without permission from the court or approval from the users. This allows them to use the personal information without having to prove a justifiable reason for the investigation. Because of the “investigation confidentiality” regulation, the users are unable to know whether their personal information was used or not.

The amount of communication data given to the investigative agencies increased significantly under the Lee Myung-bak government. Jang Yeo-kyung, a member of the Jinbo Network Center, said, “The big increase in wiretapping and demands for communication data are results of the increased surveillance by the Lee Myung-bak government, which was exemplified by the Prime Minister office’s illegal surveillance scandal”.

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