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Central Administrative Appeals Committee Rules Against Abuse of Information Disclosure Requests

  • Date2024-07-18
  • Hit603

Central Administrative Appeals Committee Rules Against Abuse of Information Disclosure Requests

- The Central Administrative Appeals Committee(CAAC) rejected a request for disclosure of information from a claimant who requested a large amount of information without intending to acquire or utilize the information and submitted ridicule and insults to the official in charge of the work as a complaint.

- CAAC concluded that it deviated from the original purpose of the Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies, which aims to guarantee the people’s right to know and ensure transparency in state operations.

(24, June. 2024, ACRC)

 

Central Administrative Appeals Committee (CAAC) concluded that the claimant’s repeated and indiscriminate requests for the disclosure of a large amount of information without actual intent to acquire or use the information, and the failure to receive most of the disclosed information, constitute an abuse of rights and are not permissible.

 

Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan), determined that the respondent’s decision not to disclose information regarding "copies of three years of CAAC decisions (excluding personal information)" to Correctional Institution ○○○○ was deemed lawful and justifiable.

 

The claimant, an inmate, sought information disclosure via email, despite regulations permitting only postal mail for external communication. Furthermore, the provided email address belonged to a specific official, rendering physical receipt impossible for the claimant. Previously, the claimant failed to obtain the information due to unpaid fees for much of the information that had been approved for disclosure by the KoreaCorrectional Service.

 

The claimant has repeatedly and indiscriminately requested the same information from various organizations, sought over ten years’ worth of data or dozens of items at once, and requested materials such as applications he had previously submitted to public institutions. These requests were not aligned with the purposes specified in the Act on Disclosure of Information, and the claimant frequently failed to receive the disclosed information.

 

Furthermore, the claimant frequently submitted complaints containing repeated ridicule, abuse, slander, and insults directed at officials in charge of the information disclosure, even threatening to file complaints if his demands were not met. It was evident that many of these information disclosure requests were intended to harass public institutions and their staff.

 

This behavior caused significant work burdens and mental stress for the officials, leading to increased time and costs for handling information disclosures, complaints, and administrative appeals, thereby causing substantial harm to the general public as well.

 

As a result, CAAC concluded that the claimant’s requests for information disclosure deviated from the original purpose of the Act on Disclosure of Information, which is to guarantee the public’s right to know, ensure public participation in government affairs, and promote transparency in state operations. The Committee determined that these requests constituted an abuse of rights and, therefore, could not be permitted.

 

Park Jong-Min, ACRC Vice Chairperson and Chairperson of CAAC, stated, "Information held by public institutions should be disclosed if there are no grounds for non-disclosure. However, strict measures are necessary against malicious requests that are indiscriminate, repetitive, and intended to harass public officials."

 

 
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