Your boss swears loudly in a conversation

As you might know, in the Republic of Korea, it is illegal to record a conversation between others that is not open to the public according to Protection of Communications Secrets Act (hereafter referred to as the “Act). Then, is it illegal to record your boss swearing loudly in a conversation with someone else in the office? Recently a criminal court ruled that it’s not illegal to record a conversation, even if you were not party of the conversation, as long as it’s for everyone to hear. (Daegu District Court Decision 2024Gohap3 Decided April 2 2024)

The defendant of the case recorded his boss swearing for workplace harassment because he had been using insulting remarks too frequently in the office. He recorded his boss swearing and speaking ill of the director of the headquarters to other employees. The defendant used the transcript of the audio file as evidence of workplace harassment. He was indicted for violation of Protection of Communications Secrets Act by recording a conversation in which he was not a party. However, the court held that the purpose of the Act was to prevent a third party who was not a participant in the conversation from recording a conversation between others that was not publicly disclosed. The court clarified that ‘not publicly disclosed’ does not mean secret, but rather that it is not open to the general public, and the nature and size of the place must be considered as well. The court also emphasized that the Supreme Court has held that a ‘conversation’ under the Act includes when one of the parties is speaking and the other is listening as well as when the parties are conversing face-to-face.