Local media outlet fined for disclosing names of Itaewon crush victims

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Local media outlet fined for disclosing names of Itaewon crush victims

Published: 13 Oct. 2024, 16:01

A bereaved family member sheds tears in front of the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Sept. 30, as Yongsan District Chief Park Hee-young leaves the courthouse after being acquitted in the first trial related to the poor response to the Itaewon tragedy. [YONHAP]

An online media outlet was fined for illegally disclosing the list of victims of the Itaewon disaster of Oct. 29, 2022, without the consent of the families.

According to data submitted by the Personal Information Protection Commission to Democratic Party Rep. Yang Bu-nam on Sunday, the commission imposed a 3 million won ($2,223) fine on Mindle News for violating the Personal Information Protection Act on July 24.

The crowd crush, which took place in Itaewon in Yongsan District, central Seoul, an area locally renowned for its Halloween atmosphere, claimed 159 lives after hundreds of people who visited the area to celebrate were trapped in a narrow alleyway.

At the time, Mindle News came under fire for revealing the names of the victims without the consent of the victims' families. The decision became a hotbed of political controversy, with various politicians and organizations across the political spectrum weighing in to either endorse or critique the actions of the media outlet.

In November 2022, the commission launched an investigation after receiving multiple complaints asking it to look into whether Mindle News had violated the law by publishing the list of Itaewon victims online.

When asked by the bereaved families to remove the names, the media outlet requested copies of identification cards that included resident registration numbers, claiming it needed to verify the relationship with the deceased.

The media outlet also did not inform the bereaved of privacy protection measures or whether steps were taken to obscure resident registration numbers during the process of collecting identification card copies.

However, it was confirmed that after verifying identities, the collected personal information was destroyed, and some names were deleted from the originally published list.

On Oct. 28, 2023, a day before the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster of Oct. 29, fences are set up along the streets of Itaewon in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]

The Personal Information Protection Act stipulates that resident registration numbers may not be processed unless permitted by law or a presidential decree, deemed necessary to protect the life or property of the data subject or a third party, or determined to be unavoidable by the commission.

The commission concluded that Mindle News’ collection of identification cards containing resident registration numbers did not fall under these exceptions, and thus it had violated the law, leading to the imposition of a fine.

“It is realistically difficult to challenge the decision made by the government under the relevant laws," a representative from Mindle News responded to the commission’s decision. "It is hard to fully accept the decision."

Regarding the one year and eight months taken for the penalty to be imposed since the investigation began, the representative said, "I don’t know why this case was so difficult to conclude.”

The representative questioned whether "the delay was due to external factors or a complex judgment by the commission."

The commission did not publicly released the details of its decision or meeting minutes until recently.

“Important matters are handled in a plenary session and, depending on the case, made public through press releases,” stated an official from the commission. “The minutes of the subcommittee meetings are published in the information disclosure system. It wasn’t withheld for any other reason."

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]