[Exclusive] "People You Know Are Scarier"... 25% of Illegal Filming Cases Involve 'Acquaintances'

6032 Suspects Caught for Illegal Filming Last Year
Among Them, 1434 Were Friends, Lovers, or Relatives
Illegal Filming Most Frequent in Apartments and Houses
Calls for Harsher Punishments for Illegal Filming

One in four perpetrators of illegal filming crimes were found to be acquaintances who knew the victims. Illegal filming occurred more frequently inside homes such as apartments and houses than outside in places like subways or shopping areas.

According to the National Police Agency on the 11th, a total of 6,032 suspects of illegal filming crimes were caught by the police from January to November last year. Among them, 1,434 were acquaintances such as friends, lovers, or relatives, accounting for 23.8% of all suspects.

The number of acquaintance-related illegal filming crimes has been increasing every year. In 2019, there were 1,225 cases (22%), in 2020, 1,359 cases (26.4%), and in 2021, 1,522 cases (26.3%). This means that over 1,000 people each year commit illegal filming crimes against close acquaintances. Over the past four years, acquaintances accounted for 24.6% of all suspects, roughly one in four.

Illegal filming occurred most frequently between romantic partners. Last year, about 49% of acquaintance suspects were in a lover relationship. This proportion has increased annually since 2019 (about 44%), approaching half. There were also 71 cases over the past four years where relatives, who were neither lovers nor friends, were perpetrators of illegal filming.

The Most Frequent Location for Illegal Filming... It Was Not Elsewhere but the Home

The place where illegal filming occurred most frequently was found to be inside the home rather than outside. Last year, the location with the highest number of illegal filming crimes was apartments and houses, totaling 1,227 cases. This accounts for about 19% of all cases. This was followed by 631 cases on the streets, 342 cases in stations and waiting rooms, and 333 cases in subways. Notably, subway cases nearly halved over three years compared to 626 cases in 2019. This is interpreted as a result of active police crackdowns reducing illegal filming crimes in places like subways. However, illegal filming crimes in apartments and houses increased by about 32% compared to 930 cases in 2019.

Heo Min-sook, a legislative researcher at the National Assembly, said, "There is a correlation between the high number of acquaintances among illegal filming perpetrators and the fact that illegal filming mainly occurs in apartments and houses," adding, "Women suffer from the fear of illegal filming not outside the home but in the place where they should feel most comfortable?their own homes."

Among Illegal Filming Sentences, 61.2% Are Suspended Sentences... "The Role of the Courts Is Even More Important"

The issue of illegal filming has long been one of the darkest aspects of Korean society. Illegal filming does not merely cause sexual humiliation but destroys a person's dignity and can even threaten their life. In December last year, composer Jung Babi (real name Jung Dae-wook, 41) was prosecuted and tried for secretly filming a woman's body. The victim was Jung’s ex-lover who, after appealing to acquaintances about the illegal filming, ultimately took an extreme step. However, the first trial court sentenced Jung to only one year in prison.

This is why calls for stronger punishments for illegal filming continue. According to a doctoral thesis by Ahn Jae-kyung from the Police University’s Department of Criminology titled "Factors Influencing the Type of Sentences for Camera Use Filming Crimes," among illegal filming cases with guilty verdicts in first trials from March 2020 to February last year, 61.2% (308 cases) received suspended sentences. The thesis criticized that courts focus more on whether the exposure or obscenity occurred rather than the purpose or intent of the filming act.

Professor Park Chan-geol of Daegu Catholic University’s Department of Police Administration said, "The role of the courts at the trial stage is more important than police investigations such as arrests," adding, "We need to consider ways to break habitual crimes like illegal filming rather than one-time punishments such as simple fines."

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