"Repeated Information Requests to Harass"... Court Sides with Police

"Demanded disclosure of all information disclosure requests filed over one month"
Even sued to overturn the police's decision to withhold the information

A prison inmate who repeatedly filed information disclosure requests to harass police officers even sued over the police’s denial of his requests, but the court ruled in favor of the police, finding that the requests constituted an “abuse of rights.”

National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Reporter Kim Hyunmin.

According to the National Police Agency on October 8, A, who is incarcerated, filed an information disclosure request in February this year seeking “all decision notices regarding information disclosure requests submitted by members of the public to Busanjin Police Station during November last year.” The police denied A’s request, citing the fact that 103 of the 108 disclosure decisions made during that period concerned investigative materials and that disclosing the remaining records could infringe on the privacy or freedom of the individuals concerned.

A argued that the decision was unlawful and filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the denial. On October 1, the Administrative Division 1-3 of the Busan District Court ruled that the decision was lawful and dismissed A’s claims in full.

The court said, “The information disclosure request in this case constitutes an abuse of rights,” citing the following reasons: A filed the request solely to harass public officials, with no intention of actually using the information; the requested information had no connection whatsoever to A’s legal status and could include sensitive personal information about third parties; and identifying and redacting personal information individually would be expected to waste considerable administrative resources.

According to the police, A filed a total of 61 information disclosure requests with police agencies nationwide over the past three years using methods similar to those in this case, and filed six lawsuits challenging the police’s decisions to withhold information. The police said that cases in which some prison inmates repeatedly file information disclosure requests with similar content and in similar ways have been increasing, with six cases in 2024, 14 last year, and 14 this year, resulting in wasted administrative resources.

An official from the National Police Agency said, “While ensuring the public’s right to know to the greatest extent possible, we will also prevent unnecessary waste of administrative resources so that the police can focus on their core duty of protecting the lives, safety, and property of the public.”

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