▲ Busan District Court
A woman in her 50s has received a suspended prison sentence for secretly installing a surveillance application on her partner's mobile phone to monitor his calls, text messages, and location data.
The Busan District Court's Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Lim Ju-hyeok) announced on June 14 that it had sentenced the defendant, identified as A, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, along with one year of suspension of qualifications, for violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act.
The court also ordered A to perform 160 hours of community service.
According to the court ruling, A purchased the surveillance application after seeing a YouTube advertisement, intending to check if her partner, B, was being unfaithful.
A was charged with installing the app on B's phone without his consent at a bar in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, in June 2022.
The app was a malicious program capable of monitoring the user's calls, text messages, and GPS location in real time.
Investigations revealed that from June 2022 to November 2024, A used the app installed on her own phone to view B's call logs, text messages, and location information.
She was also charged with remotely activating the phone's microphone and recording functions to listen to or record private conversations.
The court stated, "The nature of the crime is poor," adding, "The extent to which the victim's privacy was infringed upon is significant, and the defendant has not been forgiven by the victim."
However, the court explained the sentencing decision by noting, "We took into account that the defendant has admitted to all her wrongdoings and is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.