KORAIL Shuts off Access to Public Data, Running in the Opposite Direction of the Administration’s “Open Government Data” Policy

On July 20, KORAIL(Korea Railroad) took technical measures to block NXLogis’ access to and usage of freight train schedule data. NXLogis is a system created by train aficionados that informs train riders on the arrival and departure times of KORAIL trains. KORAIL’s own system, developed around the no longer supported Internet Explorer and lagging in updates, had been criticized for being difficult to use.

Open Net provided legal aid to NXLogis and on August 30, KORAIL overturned its decision and ‘allowed’ the usage of information by NXLogis and ‘approved’ the use. KORAIL’s decision is an example of ‘shadow regulations’ where administrative agencies provide ‘approval’ and ‘allow’ the usage of public data, even though there is no legal basis providing them with the authority to dictate such measures in the first place.

*This is a partial translation of Open Net’s original statement in Korean. You can find the full Korean version here. Contact us at master@opennet.or.kr for more information.