Police inspect female college student's Kakao messages for her involvement in Sewol Ferry protests

A female college student named Yong Hae In has revealed to the public that her KakaoTalk messages were recently inspected by the police due to her participation in the Sewol Ferry protests.

Back in May, Sewol Ferry protesters held a silent march near the Gwanghwamun Gate. As Yong had suggested to have this march, she, among 100 other citizens, were taken to the police station. The police secured a search warrant against Yong and inspected her KakaoTalk messages from her texts, pictures, to videos she exchanged with her acquaintances. Furthermore, the police even checked her MAC and IP addresses, stating that they were looking for any suspicious content and activity.

Legal experts have criticized the police's actions, noting that by investigating her when she wasn't related to any criminal activity, they invaded her privacy and violated legal proceedings.

Yong also believes that the actions of the police were excessive as she feels shaken after the recent events. "Because I'm worried that my personal information will be leaked, I've come to avoid messaging [services]. When I do use messenger, I censor myself," she said, suggesting that the recent inspection has had an almost traumatic effect on her.

In other news, the Korean government is currently under fire for violating people's privacy and freedom of speech. As the government threatens to closely monitor people's conversations in order to stop slanderous rumors against President Park Geun Hye, KakaoTalk has also lost many users for complying with government requests and allowing them access to KakaoTalk user conversations. Recently, KakaoTalk has announced a new privacy feature in hopes to win back the trust of its users.