Recently, people were in a great shock to see the news that rising singer, songwriter, Moon Moon, who is known for his emotional songs, was caught secretly filming females in a Gangnam public restroom in August of 2016. He hid his criminal record when he was making a contract with his agency. His music agency, House of Music, terminated the contract right away when they figured out the fact he committed a crime.

The problem “mol-ca” has been increasing and is threatening women’s everyday lives. “Mol-ca” is a Korean compound word which means hidden camera. It is now used as a term which covers the act of violating other people’s privacy with impure intention. The crime of taking photos and videos without someone’s consent has been a big problem ever since digital technology was developed. People were able to create and spread images or videos easily with the rise of technology. The victims are mostly women. It is also a known fact that most sex videos in Korea today are revenge porn, which boyfriends spread after a break. They don’t know they have been photographed, and the images and videos of them spread. They often learn that they are victims when someone finds an image or video of them on social media or on porn sites. It is a crime that does not allow the victims to seek damages secretly.

Because of these circumstances, many females are anxious to use public restrooms. There are many women even purchasing putty, silicon with putty to prevent “bathroom mol-ca.” Also, metal detector applications on smartphones have thousands of downloads despite doubts about their reliability.

According to the law, sexual shame is the standard of a decision of the court. In other words, when the suspect is caught secretly filming someone’s body who is dressed with less exposure of skin, it is hard for the court to decide whether it caused sexual shame, regardless of the victim’s stance. It is doubtful that the court would be able to accurately judge the degree of sexual shame that the victim felt, which could be subjective.

The Korea government and the police have been trying to calm the rising demand and anger of women who are being intimidated by the news. However, there are still many denouncements pointing out the light punishment which is not fixing the problem. They are viewed as just a slap on the wrist. According to the Special Act on Punishment of Sexual Violence, “mol-ca” violence is punished with less than five years of imprisonment or a maximum ten million won monetary penalty. People point out that the police should make stricter rules related with clear, specific standards.

L.L.F reporter Da-Won Ryu