S. Korean woman given rare jail term for spycam crime

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A S. Korean court on Monday slapped a woman with a rare jail term for secretly photographing a male nude model, in a case that sparked controversy over double standards.

High-tech S. Korea has been battling a growing epidemic of so-called "molka" or spycam videos, which largely involve men secretly filming women in schools, offices, trains, toilets, changing rooms and on the street.

Spycam crimes reported to police surged from around 1,100 in 2010 to more than 6,500 last year, and many offenders share or sell photos and videos online.

About 98 percent of offenders are men, ranging from school teachers and college professors to church pastors and police officers, while more than 80 percent of victims are women, according to official statistics.

S. Korean women stage a monthly protest against secretly-filmed spycam pornography in Seoul, June 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

But in the latest case the woman in her twenties, also a nude model, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for taking a picture of her male counterpart at a Seoul art college and sharing it on the Internet in May.

She was arrested days later and paraded in front of television cameras while police raided her home to search for evidence, which is described by many activists as an uncharacteristically swift and aggressive response.

Patriarchal values are deeply ingrained in South Korea despite its economic and technological advances.

State data shows only 8.7 percent of high-tech peeping Toms are jailed on their first conviction, with most only fined or receiving suspended terms, seen by many as a slap on the wrist.

S. Korean women having their heads shaved during a monthly protest against secretly-filmed spycam pornography in Seoul, June 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The whole response by the police to this rare case in which a victim is male is truly unprecedented," said Seo Seung-hui, head of the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence civic group.

"We rarely saw them act so quickly for countless cases in which victims were female," she said.

The case of the model, who has not been named, was a catalyst for a recent series of mass women's rallies in Seoul, at which protesters accused the police and court of treating male victims and offenders more favorably than women.

Smartphones sold in the South are required to make a loud shutter noise when taking pictures, but many offenders use special apps that mute the sound, or turn to high-tech spy cameras hidden inside eye glasses, lighters, watches, car keys and even neckties.

Source(s): AFP