Criminal/Evidence 101_001: Is it illegal to record conservation between others in Korea?

Many of you have heard Invasion of Privacy Act in the States, which makes it illegal for a person to  record a “confidential communication” whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph, telephone, or other device.

In Korea, they have different set of rules to govern recording of communication. 

1. If you are a party to the conversation, you are allowed to record the conversation without your partner's consent. So Korea is similar to states known as “one-party consent” states in which the consent of at least one party to a conversation is all that is required in order for the conversation to be legally recorded.

Therefore, those recording is admissible in court proceedings.

2. If there are three people including you, and you are secretly recording conversation between the other two in your presence, it is permitted to record their conversation.

The Supreme Court decided that the conversation between those two is not interpreted as "conversation between others" in Article 3 of Protection of Communications Secrets Act as far as the person who recorded was part of the conversation.
(Supreme Court 2006도4981)

Such recording is admissible in court proceedings.

3. However, if you are recording the conversation of others, which you are not part of, without their consent, you violate Article 3(1) and/or 14(1) of Protection of Communications Secrets Act.

Article 3 (Protection of Secrets of Communications and Conversation)

(1) No person shall censor any mail, wiretap any telecommunications, provide communication confirmation data, record or listen to any conversation between others that are not made public, without recourse to this Act, the Criminal Procedure Act or the Military Court Act: Provided, That the following cases shall be governed by the relevant Acts....

Article 14 (Prohibition of Interference in Others' Conversation Secrets)

(1) No person shall record a conversation between others that is not open to the public or listen to it through the employment of electronic or mechanical devices.

(2) The provisions of Articles 4 through 8, 9 (1) (former part) and (3), 9-2, 11 (1), (3) and (4) and 12 shall apply to recording or listening as referred to in paragraph (1).

Article 16 (Penalty Provisions)

(1) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not less than one year but not more than ten years or by suspension of qualification for not more than five years:  <Amended by Act No. 12229, Jan, 14, 2014>

1. A person who has censored any mail, wiretapped any telecommunications or recorded or eavesdropped on any conversations between other individuals in violation of the provisions of Article 3;...  

Even if one of the parties gave you permission to record the conversation between themselves, you still violate the law by recording "the conversation between others".

Hyunjoo Ahn, Esq. (JD, LLM)

Law Office of Hyunjoo Ahn

Member of Korean Bar Association

Member of Connecticut Bar Association

540-1, Sangmu Building, Sangmu-jungang-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju, Korea

Tel: 062-373-1298

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