Crackdown on hidden camera crimes elusive
Police declared an all-out war against crimes involving hidden cameras last month, but their efforts will likely be futile under current law.
The National Police Agency said Sunday it has investigated 301 sellers of small cameras across the country as they have become increasingly used by “peeping Toms” to spy on women in recent years.
Police found seven illegal cases in violation of a radio regulation law, which requires sellers of such devices to receive government approval for their transmission technology.
“Our goal is to alert sellers of small cameras to the dangers of such crimes,” a police officer said. “But under the current law, we cannot do much to root them out.”
There are two main problems. First, the current law allows anyone to have small cameras which have proven to be powerful criminal tools, but the government does not keep track of them.
Many people have fallen victim to invasion of privacy as images and videos of their bodies have been leaked online. Once out, it is almost impossi- ble to get rid of the files completely.
Second, the murky law makes it difficult to punish those who commit such acts. It bans filming other people’s “certain body parts that can cause sexual desire” against their will. In 2013, a man who was indicted for secretly taking pictures of a woman in the subway was found not guilty by the Supreme Court because his photos show her whole body. The court said it is unclear whether he did so for sexual purposes, reversing the judgment of the lower court.
But in a similar case, a man was found guilty of taking a close-up photo of a woman’s breasts.
Taking or distributing photos using a hidden camera is a crime subject to up to a five-year prison term or a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,800). Those who use such photos for commercial purposes face harsher punishment — up to a seven-year prison term or a fine of up to 30 million won.
But given that simply taking photos of others is not subject to prosecution, many end up getting away with such acts. Even if they are found guilty, few serve prison terms.
The number of sex crimes involving hidden cameras increased to 7,730 or 24.9 percent in 2015 from only 517 in 2006.
Bills have been proposed to solve the issues. Rep. Chang Byoung-wan of the People’s Party proposed a bill that would require the government to keep track of small cameras so it can hold makers and sellers of the devices accountable if problems occur.