클라우드 컴퓨팅 압수･수색의 법적 쟁점과 개선 방안 = Legal Issues and Reform of Search and Seizure in Cloud Computing

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to comprehensively analyze the legal issues arising from search and seizure in cloud computing environments and to propose institutional reforms. Unlike traditional physical storage media, cloud data is characterized by distribution, virtualization, multi-user environments, and cross-border storage, which conflict with the existing concepts of “objects to be seized” and “places to be searched” under the Korean Criminal Procedure Act. This paper classifies cloud search and seizure into four types—physical seizure of servers, compelled reproduction and submission by service providers, remote search and seizure, and extraterritorial remote search and seizure—and examines the legal and practical challenges inherent in each type. Key issues include ensuring the authenticity and integrity of digital evidence, handling unrelated data (so-called “separate-case information”), guaranteeing the participation rights of data subjects, and addressing jurisdictional conflicts. Based on these analyses, the study proposes several reforms, including the introduction of a statutory system for compelled submission, explicit legal provisions for remote and extraterritorial searches, a data preservation order, filtering mechanisms to minimize intrusion into unrelated data, and strengthening the participation rights of actual data owners. Ultimately, cloud search and seizure has become an indispensable investigative method in the digital age; however, it requires balanced institutional safeguards that protect fundamental rights while ensuring effective fact-finding. This paper contributes to establishing a foundation for more rational and detailed procedures in digital evidence investigations.