Now Catching Bathroom Hidden Cameras Too

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] "Korea is the only country in the world where illegal filming (molka) in public restrooms or women's changing rooms is prevalent. Korea is also the only country with a market that sells these recordings." This was recently revealed in the media by Heather Bar, Co-Director of the Women's Rights Division at the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW recently published a 90-page report titled "My Life Is Not Your Porn," focusing on digital sex crimes in Korea. The report conducted in-depth interviews with 12 victims of digital sex crimes and pointed out that the Korean government focuses only on deleting the footage rather than finding fundamental solutions.

However, recently, the "Partial Amendment to the Act on Public Restrooms" passed the National Assembly, initiating measures to prevent illegal filming crimes in public restrooms. It mandates regular inspections at least twice a year to check for camera installations inside public restrooms. Additionally, it requires the installation of safety management facilities such as emergency bells in public restrooms, enabling immediate requests for help from the local police station in case of emergencies.

In line with this, Jisun is developing a molka detection system. The company expects it to be commercialized by October. The detection system installed inside restrooms can find all molka cameras within 5 minutes. It detects patterns matching the characteristics of molka by sensing heat temperature and movement inside the restroom. The camera does not record when a person is using the restroom and only notifies the control room when a camera is found. This takes advantage of the fact that most camera installers are insiders and that molka cameras are installed when no one is present.

Jisun CEO Han Dong-jin said, "There are many policy challenges to spread the always-on molka detection system, but we plan to expand safe spaces for customers from the threat of intelligent molka."

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