2) Proposed Amendment to the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, and the Issue of Prohibiting Recording of Conversations Without Consent of the Parties A) Proposed Amendment to the Protection of Communications Secrets Act and Controversy In Aug. 2022, a partial amendment to the ‘Communications Secrets Protection Act’699) was proposed to the National Assembly. The proposed amendment prohibits a party from recording conversations without the other party's consent (Article 3(1)), and punishes violations by imprisonment for between 1 and 10 years and suspension of qualifications for up to 5 years (Article 16(1)). The proposed amendment had several controversies, and was resubmitted after being withdrawn and revised. In the amended bill of the Act,700) a clause was added stating that ‘the act of recording a conversation with the other party without consent is not punishable when it is in the public interest.’ The current Protection of Communications Secrets Act stipulates that “recording or listening to undisclosed conversations between others is prohibited” (Article 14) and punishes violations thereof. However, even if a conversation is recorded without the consent of the other party, the person involved in the conversation is not subjected to criminal punishment because it is not a conversation between ‘others.’701) On the other hand, depending on the circumstances, even a recording between the parties involved may result in civil liabilities. There is a precedent in which the act of recording without the consent of the other party was deemed to have infringed on the right to voice, and civil liabilities resulted.702) The main substance of the proposed amendment to the ‘Protection of Communications Secrets Act,’ is to criminally punish the recording without the consent of the parties involved to the conversation, which was previously excluded from criminal punishment. It is understood that the act of recording a conversation without the other party’s consent was intended to criminalize it in the sense that the act of recording a conversation may violate one party’s freedom of privacy.703) The said amendments were withdrawn as of the end of 2022. 699) Submitted by Rep. Yoon, Sang-hyeon, Bill No. 2116905, Aug. 18, 2022. 700) Submitted by Rep. Yoon, Sang-hyeon, Bill No. 2117633, Sep. 29, 2022. 701) Supreme Court, Decided on Oct. 23, 2008, 2008Do1237 702) Suwon District Court, Decided on Aug. 22, 2013, 2013Na8981 290