Exposing Pants and Committing Indecent Acts in Front of Female Students... Why on Earth Did They Do It? [Han Seung-gon's Incident Notebook]

Obscene Acts in Cheonan Apartment Library in Front of Children
Exposure Crime Against Female Middle School Students in Pohang
Exposure of 'Private Parts' While Watching Female Students on Express Bus in a Region of Jeonnam

A man in his 20s, Mr. A, was arrested for engaging in obscene acts in a library within an apartment complex in Cheonan, Chungnam. Photo by Facebook 'Cheonanese News'

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Recently, crimes involving suddenly pulling down pants to expose private parts to women on the street have been occurring frequently, raising the need for heightened awareness. These offenders mostly target women who are alone or primarily younger females. The crimes occur indiscriminately in places such as libraries and public buses. Victims range indiscriminately from children to adolescents. This crime is known to be highly addictive, increasing anxiety about when and where such incidents might happen again.

On the 16th, a man in his 20s was arrested for committing an obscene act toward a child inside a library in an apartment complex in Cheonan, Chungnam. According to the Cheonan Seobuk Police Station, the man, identified as A, is suspected of pulling down his pants behind a bookshelf in the apartment library on the 8th and performing an obscene act while looking at children sitting nearby.

This case became known after a post appeared on the Facebook page "Delivered from Cheonan" on the 12th, stating, "A man who appeared to be a middle or high school student committed an obscene act while looking at girls in a library of an apartment in Cheonan." The informant also uploaded a screenshot from the library's closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing a man wearing a black T-shirt pulling down his pants and seemingly performing an obscene act.

Additionally, according to the Pohang branch of the Daegu District Court, B (41), who was prosecuted for committing an obscene act toward a young female student on the street, was sentenced on the 22nd of last month to six months in prison with a two-year probation for violating the Child Welfare Act and public obscenity.

B is accused of, on October 25th last year at 7:55 p.m., pulling down his pants and underwear and masturbating after making eye contact with C (16), who was talking with a friend near Jukdo Park on Jungheung-ro in Buk-gu, Pohang. Despite previously receiving a conditional suspension of prosecution with education for public obscenity, B committed the crime again.

Meanwhile, a man in his 40s who was tried for committing an obscene act on an express bus in Jeonnam was sentenced to the same prison term in the appeal trial as in the first trial.

The 2nd Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court announced on the 19th of last month that it dismissed the appeal of D (48), who was sentenced to nine months in prison in the first trial for public obscenity. D was prosecuted for exposing his private parts and performing an obscene act while turning his body diagonally toward a female student sitting diagonally ahead on an express bus in Jeonnam for 15 minutes starting at 1:30 p.m. on September 26th last year.

D claimed diminished mental capacity in the appeal, but the court rejected his claim, considering his multiple prior convictions for sex crimes, reoffending during the recidivism period for sex crimes, and the significant psychological shock suffered by the victim.

◆ Crimes of Paraphilic Nature... Characterized by Strong Addiction

Crimes involving exposing specific body parts in public places are punishable under the Public Obscenity Act by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 5 million won. Such acts are a type of paraphilia, where these impulses and behaviors persist for more than six months and cause impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. It is a form of paraphilia characterized by strong criminal addiction.

Paraphilia refers to abnormal sexual desires and behaviors. It involves a strong urge to act out one's sexual fantasies and includes over 30 types such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, fetishism, contact paraphilia, pedophilia, and sadism.

In the medical community, exhibitionism is considered a type of paraphilic disorder, a mental illness. According to the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic criteria, if symptoms are repetitive, persist for over six months, and cause distress to the actor or the target or significantly impair social functioning, it is diagnosed as a "paraphilic disorder."

◆ Male Perpetrators Overwhelmingly Dominate Exhibitionism Cases... Often Accompanied by Masturbation

A university research study found that perpetrators of exhibitionism are overwhelmingly male and that most cases involve masturbation. According to the 2015 paper "Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Sexual Exhibitionism and Contact Paraphilia" by the Department of Psychology at Dankook University, a survey was conducted on 568 general individuals aged 10 to 50 who mainly use subways and buses regarding their experiences with exhibitionism and contact paraphilia.

The results showed that among 109 victims (19.2%) of exhibitionism, 102 (93.6%) were female and 7 (6.4%) were male. Locations where sexual exposure occurred included schools or workplaces (37 cases, 33.3%), roads (28 cases, 25.6%), and homes or nearby areas (20 cases, 18.3%). In 46.8% of exhibitionism cases, the perpetrator was accompanied by masturbation. Additionally, 49 victims (50.0%) experienced exhibitionism more than twice.

After the sexual exposure act, the perpetrator's reactions were: "remained at the scene without any reaction" in 52 cases (47.6%), "ran away" or "had a laughing or mocking expression" in 15 cases (13.7%), "approached and attempted to talk" in 5 cases (4.6%), "came close" in 4 cases (3.7%), and "appeared scared or fearful" in 1 case (0.9%).

The research team stated, "Sexual exposure victims often do not report to the police but mainly report to family and friends," and added, "Active mediation efforts by family and friends around the victims are considered necessary to refer victims to the police or professional therapists."

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