BJ Crimes After Sleeping... Personal Broadcasters Turned into a Nuisance

Illegal broadcasts including proxy gambling and unauthorized entry into private property... Police intensify crackdowns

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] #A BJ who was broadcasting online game 'Lineage' content on the personal broadcasting platform AfreecaTV caused an accident on the 31st while driving under the influence, colliding with a motorcycle running in the adjacent lane. As a result of this accident, a man in his 30s who was driving the motorcycle died at the scene, and it was confirmed that the BJ's blood alcohol concentration at the time was at the license suspension level. This BJ is currently detained at the police station and under investigation.

The deviant behavior of internet personal broadcasters (BJs) is emerging as a serious social problem. Netizens continue to criticize the frequent accidents involving BJs that occur almost daily.

According to the concentrated crackdown results on illegal activities in internet personal broadcasting announced by the National Police Agency on the 1st, 16 illegal acts and 91 BJs were caught, among whom 4 were arrested. Notably, among the 4 arrested BJs, 2 are suspected of sexual crimes such as sexually assaulting broadcast participants or illegal filming.

In fact, sexual crimes are occurring repeatedly, such as hunting BJs giving women alcohol and then sexually harassing them or forcing them to engage in similar sexual acts. Even when police respond to reports from viewers, these illegal broadcasts continue due to the lack of proper legal grounds for punishment.

Cases of promoting gambling sites during broadcasts or receiving money from viewers to gamble on their behalf also continue unabated. Among those arrested, 49 were involved in cyber gambling, accounting for about 54% of the total. They have been broadcasting illegal private server gameplay videos, exploiting the fact that such broadcasts are not punishable, and conducting in-game gambling content and proxy betting.

Some BJs also trespass on private property without permission, citing reasons such as haunted houses or horror experiences. A police official said, "Entering private property for commercial reasons is a serious offense, but even when contacting the property owner, if the response is to leave it alone, it is difficult to impose punishment."

The police are also on high alert regarding these illegal acts by BJs. They plan to switch to a permanent crackdown system on illegal activities related to internet personal broadcasting and strengthen preventive activities through consultations with related organizations.

A National Police Agency official urged, "Because illegal acts committed during personal broadcasts and new crimes using personal broadcasting platforms have a large impact, we ask for the public's active reporting and tips."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.