집회시위현장의 채증활동과 정보자기결정권의 충돌에 관한 소고

Now, if the collection, storage, processing, and utilization of personal information by police and other state organizations do not comply with legal provisions and purposes, it would be subject to a more heated controversy over violation of constitutional rights. Moreover, we have witnessed a lot of cases in which the disposal of records and documents by public organizations exposed personal information included in them. These cases tell us not only that administrative organizations must comply with prudent and strict procedures and monitoring in their management of personal information, but also that circumspection have to heightened by creating procedures and penalties for violations. When a law is created for some needs, it is of greatest importance to make efforts to comply with it. Of course, exercising state power, police must do so within the legal boundary, and particularly with regard to intelligence operation that may violate citizens’ benefits and basic rights, it must be subjected to stricter regulation and purposes. In that light, it is imperative to provide legal justification and define the boundary for the evidence collection by police that is being disputed in the wake of recent candlelight protests. And detailed legal provision needs to be installed as to the storage, use, processing, and disposal of the collected information to rule out all abuses of personal information. The state should do more in preventing any violation of the right to informational self-determination by clearly recognizing that citizens do not stop at passively receiving the work of public authority but are moving toward getting their needs met by demanding specific legal grounds and pointing out violations committed by the state.