New laws to curb 'revenge porn' and other sex crimes

The government announced a set of measures to curb the crime of secretly filming women for sexual gratification and other purposes, including regular inspections of subways and other public facilities, to ensure they are free of hidden cameras.

The Prime Minister's Office reported the measures to President Moon Jae-in during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Since August, Moon has called for comprehensive measures to end "hidden camera crimes" and support victims.

The package of measures also included requiring those buying secret cameras posed as daily devices to provide their personal information and toughening punishments for distributing illicit footage, including revenge pornography.

The measures called for those spreading revenge footage to be punished not with fines but only with imprisonment of up to five years. Those who circulate footage without the consent of those filmed should be punished with up to seven years in prison, according to the measures.

Earlier in the day, the government and the ruling party held a policy coordination meeting on the issue.

"The so-called digital crimes, such as the circulation of illicit footage, are at a serious level," Woo Won-shik, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said in his opening remarks. "Many are very concerned that they and their family members could be victimized."

During the meeting, the ruling bloc also agreed to explore ways to curb the import, sale and possession of cameras modified for illegal purposes.

They, in addition, decided to seek to encourage Internet service providers to delete or block any illicit films when they become aware of them and have offenders pay for the costs for deleting them online.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of hidden camera crimes, which stood at 2,400 in 2012, rose to 6,623 in 2014 and declined to 5,185 last year. (Yonhap)