1,600 Hotel Guests in South Korea Were Secretly Filmed By Hidden Cameras

March 21, 2019

South Korean authorities

According to the local police, they have arrested two men and investigated another pair connected with the scandal.

The illicit activity, which was found across 10 South Korean cities, involved the use of tiny cameras hidden in digital TV boxes, wall sockets, and hair dryer holders.

Around 1,600 people were secretly filmed, with footage of them live-streamed online for paying customers, the Cyber Investigation Department at the National Police Agency said in a statement.

It further noted that there is no indication that the hotel owners were complicit in the crime.

Captured footage from the hidden cameras are reportedly sent to a private site, where members paid a monthly fee to access the videos, CNN reports.

The unnamed portal has over 4,000 members, at least 97 of whom reportedly paid $44.95 per month to access extra features, including being able to replay certain live streams.

“There was a similar case in the past where illegal cameras were (secretly installed) and were consistently and secretly watched, but this is the first time the police caught where videos were broadcast live on the internet,” police said.

The illegal use of spy cameras has been uncovered in the past in South Korea, where over 6,400 cases of illegal filming were reported to police in 2017 alone.

To protest against the rampant practice, tens of thousands of women demonstrated in the streets last year, carrying placards that said: “My Life is Not Your Porn.”

In response to the spy camera problem, Seoul police even launched a special squad of female inspectors to regularly check for spy cameras in the city’s public toilets looking.

Featured image via YouTube/The Star Online

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