"Warrant execution goes online"... Electronic warrant system for financial and telecommunications sectors launched

[Financial News] A system enabling financial and telecommunications-related warrants to be executed in electronic document form was launched on the 28th. Rather than presenting paper warrants in person or sending them by email, investigative agencies can now transmit warrants through a dedicated system, while financial institutions and telecommunications operators verify them and return the requested materials.
The Ministry of Justice said it launched the electronic warrant execution system for transmitted warrants at 8 a.m. that day in cooperation with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO), the Korean National Police Agency, the Korea Coast Guard (KCG), and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
The system was designed to enable warrants, request forms, and authorization forms issued as electronic documents to be executed online.
When criminal justice agencies send warrants and other documents issued by courts as electronic documents to the electronic warrant execution portal for transmitted warrants, financial institutions and telecommunications operators complete an authentication process and access the portal to verify the warrants. They then submit the necessary materials through the system in accordance with the warrants.
The system also records the history of warrant verification and the submission of materials returned in response. Warrants, response materials, and other data are transmitted in encrypted form.
Computer-system links with financial and telecommunications institutions have also been established. In the financial sector, the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) and 20 domestic banks signed memorandums of understanding and linked their computer networks. In the telecommunications sector, the networks of major operators, including the three mobile network operators and value-added telecommunications service providers, were connected to electronicize warrant execution procedures.
As a result, a substantial portion of the existing procedures for executing financial and telecommunications warrants through in-person visits or email is expected to shift to verification and response through the electronic system.
The Ministry of Justice said, "We expect this to improve the speed and transparency of warrant execution procedures."
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter