Calls growing over stern punishment for 'revenge porn'

By Kang Seung-woo

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans are urging the government to come up with strict punitive action against “revenge porn,” sparked by a recent scandal linked to a K-pop star.

As of Monday, more than 217,300 people signed a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website criticizing the rapidly evolving cyber sex crime and calling for tough penalties for those who commit the crime.

The presidential office makes it a rule to reply to a petition that gains more than 200,000 signatures within 30 days of a proposal being registered.

Revenge porn involves the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of ex-lovers without permission of the individuals depicted. It is often abused as a means to blackmail individuals or damage their reputations.

“It has been decades since the concept of revenge porn came to light. However, while perpetrators have escaped prison sentences, victims have had to face unexpected responses from unknown people who reproach their behavior,” the petitioner wrote.

The petition also referred to Koo Ha-ra, a former member of girl group Kara who recently claimed her ex-boyfriend had blackmailed her by threatening to release a sex video of them.

“Sending him to jail only after he posts the sexually explicit video cannot stop the sex crime. The ex-boyfriend should be given an exemplary punishment for those who create revenge porn and threaten to publish it on the internet,” the petition said.

“We reject light imprisonment and a mere fine. Anyone who even deletes revenge porn after filming it should end up in jail.”

According to the Gangnam Police Station, Koo filed multiple complaints against her ex-boyfriend late last month for threats and coercion as well as committing sex crimes.

The ex-boyfriend's lawyer, however, claimed it was not revenge porn because the couple filmed it together and he never intended to spread it to other people.

Amid growing cases of revenge porn, the government announced that those who post explicit photographs or videos of their ex-partners online without their consent would face up to five years in prison, ruling out the option of a maximum fine of 10 million won ($8,800).

The measure came after most revenge porn offenders ended up only paying fines in the past.

In addition, the government plans to have the offenders pay for deleting revenge porn on the internet, while providing one-stop comprehensive services such as financial, medical and legal support for the victims.

The revision bill for the tougher measures is pending at the National Assembly.

In July, President Moon Jae-in called for tougher punishment for hidden cameras, accepting women's complaints that the current punishment for hidden camera crimes is too light.