개인정보 및 사생활보호를 위한 민간조사원 조사권의 한계 설정

Abstract

This study places its emphasis on the protection of personal information and privacy, which is the major concern in the process of adopting the private investigation system in Korea. Moreover, the legal or other practical issues related to the infringement of personal information and privacy are reviewed while efficient ways to set the proper scope of private investigation to minimize the infringement are discussed. The detailed examination on the issues of personal information and privacy reveals that violation of portrait rights, wiretapping, invasion of privacy or restrictions on personal freedom due to tailing and stakeout, and intrusion on the personal rights caused by excessive collection of personal information and its overuse are the major expected problems. Therefore, in order to minimize the intrusion into personal information and private life, this study proposes the following sets of work scope for the private investigators. Firstly, wiretapping should be prohibited; in other words, private investigators are not allowed to trespass on a private area of the person being investigated. Secondly, shooting photos needs to be sanctioned as it is a crucial part of the investigatory tasks. However, it should be limited to the shooting in public areas of those who are considered possible evidence of a case. Thirdly, tailing and stakeout should be legalized as the vital components to perform relevant duties; however, they should only be permitted in open places and should be stopped when requested by the person being investigated. Furthermore, private investigators are prohibited to collect any personal information outside of their work scope. Finally, disclosure of the personal information acquired over the course of investigations to a third party is prohibited, and all the relevant information should be discarded after termination of investigations.