Chinese Man Who Secretly Filmed 27 Women in Seoul Indicted Without Detention

A Chinese man in his 20s, identified only as Mr. A, who secretly filmed 27 women in Seoul was indicted without physical detention on the 9th. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office indicted Mr. A without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes (filming using cameras, etc.).

According to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, Mr. A was arrested in the act while filming women with his mobile phone at a cafe in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, at around 6 p.m. on the 4th of last month, and prosecutors applied the charge of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes (filming using cameras, etc.). Secret filming, the act of filming a person's body without their consent, is a punishable crime. Mr. A is also accused of secretly filming 27 women in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, and Mapo-gu, Seoul, among other areas. Police investigation revealed that Mr. A committed secret filming not only in Seongsu-dong but also in Mapo-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu. Mr. A was identified as a Chinese tourist who entered the country in late July. Police imposed a travel ban on Mr. A on the 5th of last month and recently extended it by one month.

Such illegal filming crimes occur by the thousands each year. In 2022, there were 6,865 cases with 6,532 people caught, and in 2023, 6,626 cases occurred with 6,042 people arrested.

On the 20th of last month, the Seoul Jungbu Police Station referred a male photographer in his 30s, who installed a camera in a women's changing room at a wedding hall and filmed about 10 women, to prosecutors without detention on charges of filming using cameras. Police confirmed that a camera connected to the man's mobile phone had been installed in the women's changing room and secured the illegally filmed footage.