Supreme Court: "Domestic Repatriation of UK National for 'Dating App Illegal Filming' Does Not Count Overseas Detention Period Toward Sentence"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A British man who illegally filmed Korean women he met through a dating app and uploaded the videos for a fee on websites he operated has been sentenced to prison. The defendant argued that the time he was detained in a Danish detention center before being extradited to Korea for trial should be counted toward his sentence, but the Supreme Court rejected this claim.

On the 4th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jaehyung) announced that it upheld the original sentence of 1 year and 2 months imprisonment in the final appeal trial of Mr. A, a British English teacher and YouTuber, who was charged with violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.

Previously, Mr. A was prosecuted for secretly filming scenes of physical contact with Korean women he met through a dating app in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in 2018, using pre-installed cameras, and distributing the footage on his YouTube channel and websites he operated. Investigations revealed that he also filmed videos in Hong Kong and Taiwan, granting viewing rights to members who paid $27 per month.

Mr. A, who was red-listed by Interpol, was arrested in Denmark in November 2019 and detained in a local detention center for 263 days before being extradited to Korea.

The first trial court sentenced him to 1 year and 2 months imprisonment, stating, "Due to the nature of crimes using digital media, the harm caused by the distributed videos is unlikely to be fully recovered and may continue." In response, Mr. A's side appealed, arguing that the detention period in the Danish detention center should be counted toward his sentence.

However, the second trial court rejected Mr. A's claim. Article 7 of the current Criminal Act stipulates that "for a person who has served all or part of a sentence abroad for a crime, the executed sentence abroad shall be counted toward the sentence imposed," which should be interpreted as applying to those who have actually served a prison term or paid a fine based on a foreign court's guilty verdict.

The court added, "Even if the defendant was detained in a Danish detention center, this is governed by Danish law and cannot be considered the same as pretrial detention under domestic criminal justice procedures." Pretrial detention refers to detaining a suspect until the trial is finalized.

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The bench dismissed Mr. A's appeal, stating, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding the counting of pretrial detention days."

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