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| A suspect who allegedly recorded footage of naked women at water parks is taken to Yongin Dongbu Police Station in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, for questioning. / Yonhap |
28-year-old admits to selling recorded footage
By Jung Min-ho
Police said Wednesday that they have arrested a woman suspected of having recorded videos of more than 100 naked women in water park shower rooms using a concealed camera.
The 28-year-old woman, surnamed Choi, has admitted that she recorded videos at a water park in Gangwon Province and three other places last year.
She said that she handed over the video files to an unidentified man, who offered her money for doing the job, said Yongin Dongbu Police Station.
One 10-minute video clip that she recorded titled, "Korean Water Park Shower Hidden Cam Videos Released," recently went viral, stoking fears of more secretly shot footage, especially among women.
Police said, in total, the four video files are 185 minutes long. They are investigating whether other files have also been released online.
During questioning, Choi said that she received 300,000 won to 600,000 won ($500) for each video file from the man who she met through an online chat site. Police are now searching for him.
Choi used a subminiature camera imported from Taiwan attached to a mobile phone cover to record the video files.
She also allegedly shot video at three water parks in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces as well as more at an outdoor pool in Seoul from July to August last year.
After her video clip made headlines last week, Choi immediately traveled from Seoul to her hometown Gokseong in South Jeolla Province, to avoid the ensuing police investigation.
By then, police found her address after narrowing down a list of suspects to those who visited all four places within the period. Police also found a few seconds of video in which Choi's face appeared at the end of the video file.
However, before officers reached her house, Choi unexpectedly contacted the police, but not regarding the crimes she was alleged to have done.
According to police, her father learned of the video scandal after relatives told him about it. In anger, he allegedly beat her as he scolded his daughter. When Choi called the police, she accused her father of domestic violence.
Within 30 minutes, she was arrested.
Choi said she gave the subminiature camera back to the man along with the video files and denied that she distributed the files.
"Finding the man is our priority now. We believe he is the one that distributed the video," a police officer said.
This is the latest major crime involving concealed cameras.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of crimes involving such devices increased from 2,400 in 2012 to 6,623 last year.
Under the law, those taking or distributing photos or videos obtained from concealed cameras could face up to five years in prison or a maximum of 10 million won in fines. However, most offenders are fined, while few end up with prison sentences.
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