South Korean police say Google collects personal info

Google collected e-mails and other personal information from unsecured wireless networks in South Korea while taking photographs for its Street View mapping service, police said.

Google accessed private data as its cars took photos of neighborhoods in Seoul and three other major cities in South Korea between October 2009 and May 2010, said Jung Suk-hwa, a police officer in charge of the investigation. Jung said the police reached the preliminary conclusion after analyzing hard disks obtained from Google, noting that police plan to wrap up the investigation as early as this month. Police suspect Google's activities break South Korean laws protecting privacy of telecommunications. It was not immediately clear whether Google and its officials might be prosecuted or penalized here. Google apologized for intruding and vowed to continue to cooperate with South Korean authorities.