A serving police officer in Gyeonggi Province has been arrested on suspicion of taking personal information from an internal police network and passing it to an outsider for money. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said its metropolitan investigation unit is questioning the officer over alleged violations including the Personal Information Protection Act.
What investigators are checking
Investigators say the officer obtained personal data from the police system in July, provided it to an outside person and received payment in return. Police are examining how the information was accessed, what was transferred and how the payment was arranged. The investigation is still under way, so the allegations have not been finally adjudicated.
The case follows other recent arrests involving alleged leaks of police-held information. Gyeonggi Bukbu police previously sent two other officers to prosecutors in late July after detaining them on accusations of leaking personal data and receiving money, while a police officer in South Gyeongsang was also detained last month over an alleged transfer to a private investigator. The pattern puts renewed attention on controls governing access to sensitive police databases.