Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Spycam criminals to forfeit profits under new law
The Ministry of Justice hopes that the new law will reduce molka crimes. GETTYIMAGESBANK
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Starting this month, all profits from illegal spycam videos will be forfeited.
The Ministry of Justice announced Friday that the National Assembly had passed the bill in a war against the spread of voyeurism.
The law will allow authorities to expropriate criminals' properties if they hide proceeds from secretly filmed videos or images of a sexual nature, known as molka.
According to police, 5,185 molka crimes were reported in 2016 and more than 90 percent of the victims were women.
Experts point out that one of the reasons the molka industry has quickly flourished is its high return and lenient punishment. Top uploaders on online storage platforms here reportedly make tens of millions of won (tens of thousands of dollars) a month.
Even if they get caught and convicted, they usually are merely fined millions of won or less.