BOK faces probe over cyber censorship

Some lawmakers are set to pound on the Bank of Korea for allegedly tracing the IP addresses of employees who badmouthed executives including Governor Kim Choong-soo on the bank’s internal online message board.

The BOK had sought to hunt down staff members who wrote critically of the governor’s remarks during an internal meeting and the exceptional working conditions for Deputy Governor Kim Jun-il, and take legal action against them.

The central bank took issue with two more postings that contained complaints about an internal sports event and personnel matters.

The BOK is believed to have traced their IP addresses and considered punishing them, prompting strong backlash from some employees, Yonhap News Agency said. 

Lee Hee-won, chief of the BOK’s legal office, denied the allegations on Monday, saying his office has never tried to find out who wrote the messages online.

Yonhap disclosed on Monday the BOK’s inquiries to two law firms on whether it could press civil or criminal charges against the employees for libel or contempt.

The bank also asked if it was legal to trace their IP addresses and take other technical measures to track them down.

The law firms’ replies were not made public.

Libel or slander cases can be filed over online postings even if they were on an anonymous message board. IP tracing, however, would be morally unacceptable for most people, according to a lawyer.

Legislators such as Rep. Choi Jae-sung of the opposition Democratic United Party are expected to question the BOK over the alleged cyber inspection at the extraordinary parliamentary session on Wednesday.

“The fact that they made such an inquiry about postings on an internal message board shows the mindset of the BOK leadership,” Choi said.

“It goes completely against common sense, and someone will have to take responsibility.”

A ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker also said tracing IP addresses was too much.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)