Inmate repeatedly files information disclosure requests with police... court calls it an “abuse of rights”

[Financial News] A court has ruled lawful the police decision to withhold information from a prison inmate who repeatedly filed information disclosure requests without intending to use the information and for the purpose of harassing public officials.
The National Police Agency said on the 8th that Administrative Division 1-3 of the Busan District Court dismissed in full, on the 1st, inmate A’s claim in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Busanjin Police Station’s decision to withhold information, which A argued was unlawful.
In February, A asked the Busanjin Police Station to disclose all decisions on information disclosure requests filed by members of the public over the month of November last year.
The Busanjin Police Station determined that 103 of the 108 decisions on information disclosure requests during that period concerned investigation-related materials, and that disclosure of the remaining five could also risk infringing on privacy or freedom. Citing Article 9(1)(6) of the Information Disclosure Act, it decided in March to withhold the information. A challenged the decision and filed a lawsuit with the Busan District Court.
The court found that A’s information disclosure requests amounted to an abuse of rights. It cited, among other grounds, that A had made the requests to harass public officials without intending to use the information and that the requested information was unrelated to A’s legal status.
The court also considered that the material subject to disclosure could include sensitive private information about third parties, and that reviewing and redacting personal information item by item could consume considerable administrative resources.
A was found to have filed a total of 61 information disclosure requests with police agencies nationwide over the past three years in a manner similar to the one in this case. A also filed as many as six lawsuits challenging the police’s decisions to withhold information.
According to police, cases in which prison inmates’ malicious information disclosure requests led to lawsuits challenging the decisions rose from six in 2024 to 14 last year, with 14 more cases this year, bringing the total to 34 over the past three years.
Police said they had won 23 of those lawsuits. No case has resulted in a final loss since February, and seven lawsuits are currently ongoing.
“We will continue to determine whether information should be disclosed while ensuring the public’s right to know as fully as possible and preventing unnecessary administrative resources from being spent due to abuse of rights,” a National Police Agency official said.


[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter