정보인권에 관한 헌법재판소 판례의 분석

Informational Human Rights include freedom of expression, right of access to information, Personal Information Control Right etc. The notion of freedom of expression is intimately linked to political debate and the concept of democracy. The right of access to information is an extension of freedom of speech. It may also refer to the right to privacy in the context of the information technology. Personal Information Control Right can be generally defined as individual's constitutional right to control the circulation of information relating to oneself. These rights can be restricted for the sake of national security, social order, and public interest, but its restriction should be based on a clear statutory and comply with the rule against excessive restriction. The Constitutional Court of Korea held that Article 53 of the Telecommunications Business Act and Article 16 of the Enforcement Decree of Telecommunications Business Act are unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court held constitutional the part, "the likes", of Article 93 Section 1 of Public Office Election Act because the challenged provision does not infringe on freedom of election campaign. However democracy will not be true to its essential ideal if those in power are able to manipulate the electorate by withholding information and stifling criticism. In contrast to the Constitutional Court's decision, the Resident Registration Act does not provide a statutory basis for the NPA to collect and store the original fingerprints. And also computerization and use of fingerprints by the NPA lack statutory bases. On the other hand, the fingerprinting system infringes on the complainants' right to control one's own personal information in violation of the rule against excessive restriction.