Requests for Telecommunications User Information by Investigative Agencies Increase by 12% Over Previous Year

In the second half of last year, there was an approximately 12% increase in the number of requests from investigative agencies such as the police and prosecution for telecommunications user information compared to a year earlier.

According to the "Second Half of 2025 Telecommunications User Information and Telecommunications Records Provision Status" released by the Ministry of Science and ICT on July 31, the number of telecommunications user information cases provided to the prosecution, police, National Intelligence Service, and other agencies reached 1,461,647 based on phone numbers, representing an 11.9% increase from the same period the previous year.

Telecommunications user information includes basic personal data such as user name, resident registration number, address, service start and termination dates, phone number, and user ID. Investigative agencies request this information through official documents, in accordance with the law, for the purpose of criminal investigations.

Broken down by agency, the number of cases increased by 2,685 for the prosecution, by 139,883 for the police, and by 18,742 for other organizations.

The number of cases in which "telecommunications records"—including the called party's phone number, call date and time, and location tracking data of the originating cell tower—were provided increased by 90,424 based on phone numbers.

The number of cases increased by 29,873 for the prosecution and by 54,342 for the police; for the National Intelligence Service and other agencies, the numbers rose by 3,488 and 2,859, respectively.

There was also an increase of 301 cases year-on-year in "communication restriction measures," which are carried out with court approval in cases such as offenses threatening public safety.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.