Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Supreme Court rules evidence from sting operation admissible
This January 2019 file photo shows the building of the Supreme Court in southern Seoul. The court has recently ruled that evidence collected from a sting investigation is admissible in court, saying that a warrant is not required if there is a pressing need to secure the evidence. Newsis
By Jung Min-ho
The Supreme Court has ruled that evidence collected from a sting investigation is admissible in court, saying that a warrant is not required if there is a pressing need to secure the evidence.
According to court officials, Wednesday, the top court on May 30 struck down the appellate court's verdict that found a brothel operator not guilty due to the evidence presented having been obtained through an undercover operation and therefore inadmissible.
The owner of a massage parlor that was operating as a brothel in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, was indicted on charges of operating an illegal prostitution business based on evidence gathered by an undercover police officer pretending to be a customer on May 17, 2018.
With other investigators standing by outside, the officer secretly recorded his conversations with the owner and one of the sex workers there and took photos of the place before calling them in.
The point of contention was whether the recordings and pictures were valid as evidence in court, given the criminal procedure law that says "any evidence obtained in violation of the due process shall not be admissible."
A district court accepted the evidence and fined the owner 3 million won ($2,100) for violating the anti-prostitution law.
But the appeals court overturned the ruling on the grounds that the police obtained the evidence unlawfully, issuing a not-guilty verdict for the owner.
The Supreme Court, however, said the police's attempt to collect evidence must not be seen as a violation of due process simply because of the absence of a warrant.
"If there is urgency and a necessity" to secure evidence, a recording conducted by police to secure it should be accepted as lawful, the court said.