![]() This fall, a nurse, whose identity remains anonymous, committed suicide after learning that a doctor at the hospital where she worked had filmed her and several other women in a changing room at the hospital. And falling victim to one of these crimes can have deadly consequences.Įnjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. The victims are mainly women – 90 percent of victims worldwide are female, according to a UN report. Over the past few years, there has been increased public outcry around the problem of spy cams – tiny cameras secretly hidden in public bathrooms, changing rooms, motels, and more and used to film people’s most intimate moments. While Hara’s case brought increased attention to the topic, these types of privacy violations are not contained to the realm of celebrity. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. ![]() It now has nearly 250,000 signatures – and because it has surpassed 200,000, the government is required to respond. Hara’s supporters say the sentence should have been longer, and that the judge didn’t take the charge that Choi filmed Hara without permission seriously enough – during the trial, Judge Oh stated, “The victim did not give her express consent, but it does not appear as though the defendant went against the victim’s will.”Īn official petition calling for re-evaluation of sentencing for sex crimes that was originally posted on the Korean government’s website in June gained steam after Hara’s death. People have also focused attention on Judge Oh Duk-sik, who presided over the case against Choi. Now, especially in the aftermath of Hara’s death, fans and activists say this punishment was not nearly enough, and have trended hashtags on social media calling for more severe punishment for Choi and men like him. He received a suspended sentence of just one year and six months, with three years’ probation. The man, Choi Jong-bum, was convicted on several charges including assault, threats, and property damage, but found not guilty of sexual assault. Earlier this year, the singer, who went by the stage name Hara, sued her ex-boyfriend for abuse and for blackmailing her with threats to release a sex tape he had taken of the two of them. Hara had been in the public eye for over a decade as a member of the popular girl group Kara. On November 28, K-pop star Goo Hara was found dead in her home in a suspected suicide. These recent tragedies have called attention to the need for serious, societal change to address these problems, which disproportionately affect women, galvanizing a growing movement in South Korea to improve protections for its citizens - especially women. Now, three high-profile deaths have highlighted three interconnected problems facing Korean women: assault, online harassment, and hidden spy cameras. In the last two years, the Me Too movement sparked tough conversations in South Korea about the role of women in society, and thousands of women took to the streets to protest against leniency for spy cam crimes.
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