Personal Privacy Versus People’s Right To Know Part 4

 written by 20228 Hwang Uikyu

In part four of the five part series titled "Personal Privacy Versus People's Rights to Know," the Opinion department looked into how the Constitution of the Republic of Korea protects personal privacy.

We Have To Protect Personal Privacy

 

Individual privacy is recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. People have the right to protect themselves. The Constitution is the highest law of the nation, because the will of all people created it for the basic order of the nation and the rights and obligations of the people. The Constitution is the basic ideology of all laws in the country. It is designed so that the state cannot infringe upon the people’s rights. It also contributes to the development of a free democratic country by stipulating the governance system of the country.

Article 21 of the Korean Constitution stipulates that all citizens are free to press, publish, freely assemble and form a society. This is in opposition to the suppression of the August Gwanghwamun protest in the name of social distancing.

In the spring, churches were shut down due to the Shincheonji Church hiding infected members. However, Article 20 stipulates that all people have religious freedom, which is also against changing religion or banning religious activities altogether just because COVID-19 spreads.

As we enter the digital age, we need sufficient protection against personal privacy violations. These may occur in all aspects of our lives due to the excessive concentration and spread of information. The disclosure of secrets about an individual has a significant impact on the individual’s social role, autonomy, etc.

The computerization of personal information can harm in two ways. One way is that access to information is easily obtained. The other is that there is no way to control the accuracy of computerized information.

 

In My Opinion

 

Recently, there was a lot of talk about releasing information about confirmed patients’ movements due to COVID-19. Some people have called for the disclosure of the confirmed patients’ movements. They say it is the people’s right to know and that they have the right to be protected from infectious diseases. However, quite a few claim that the disclosure is a violation of privacy. They believe the Constitution protects the confirmed patients’ privacy. These people say that there are other ways to prevent the pandemic from spreading.

I also think it is necessary to listen to the opinions of the confirmed people. I know that the disclosure is an excellent way to satisfy the people’s right to know and prevent epidemics. However, every citizen has a right to protect their privacy. Therefore, I do not think such privacy violations should happen if confirmed individuals do not want to disclose their information.