Civil servant accused of pilfering ex-girlfriend's phone number

A civil servant was accused of pilfering ex-girlfriend's phone number. gettyimagesbank

By Dong Sun-hwa

To say the least, the case is bizarre. Reports recently claimed that a senior civil servant at Geumjeong-gu Office, Busan, was accused of allegedly illegally acquiring his ex-girlfriend's personal information using the office computer network.

A detective handling the case told The Korea Times that the case was suddenly brought by the husband of a former girlfriend over the civil servant's contact five years ago.

“He claimed he did not illicitly obtain the personal data of his ex-lover,” a detective said Thursday. “He attempted to get her phone number, but what he accidentally acquired was the number of her husband.”

He called the number, without knowing that he was phoning her husband. Therefore, as soon as he heard the voice of an unknown man, he hung up ― but the husband called him back and the pair talked, according to the detective.

“The accused explained the reason for his call, disclosing that he wanted to ask his ex-girlfriend why she suddenly vanished when they were dating in the past,” said the detective. “So the husband said he could have a meeting with her and gave the man her phone number.”

The civil servant met his former girlfriend and talked with her.

All this happened in 2013.

Now after five years, the husband has filed a complaint against the civil servant, belatedly making an issue over the incident.

“We don't see why he made a belated complaint,” said the detective. “The husband and wife were already living apart when the suspect called the husband in 2013.”