디지털 증거에 관한 압수·수색에서의 ‘전문가 참여인 제도’의 신설에 관한 검토

In response to the increasing prevalence of crimes involving advanced technologies related to electronic information devices, investigative agencies are facing a growing necessity to use comp lex and diverse digital forensic tools during the search and seizure for digital evidence. However, even if suspects or counsels are all owed to participate in the execution process, it remains difficult for them to directly detect or recognize potential unlawful conducts su ch as the misuse of specialized digital forensic techiques or tools by investigative agencies under the guise of investigative efficiency. As a result, simply allowing suspects or counsels to participate pro vides only limited assurance of legality in these search and seizure procedures. To address this issue, new measures are needed to protect more effectively the rights of the concerned party and overcome practical limitations in the search and seizure for digital evidence. One such measure is the establishment of “Specialist Participants System,” which would allow a qualified specialist—possessing the requisite professional knowledge and credentials in digital forensics—to participate in the execution process as a neutral third party. It appears that the Supreme Court has also acknowledged the necessity of specialist participants in the search and seizure for digital evidence. However, there is still no clear statutory basis for allowing a third-party specialist to participate in enforcing such co mpulsory measures. To protect the concerned party’s fundamental rights more effectively during the search and seizure for digital evi dence, it is imperative to secure a clear legal foundation for this system.