Customs Blocking Real Doll Imports... Court Rules "Not Obscene Material, Should Be Allowed"

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court ruling has determined that the customs office's decision to block the import of adult products modeled after the female body, so-called 'realdolls,' on the grounds that they are obscene materials is illegal. This judgment aligns with the Supreme Court ruling that defined realdolls as sexual devices rather than obscene materials.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 5 (Presiding Judge Yangjun Park) ruled in favor of adult product specialist company A in a lawsuit against the Gimpo Airport Customs Office head, seeking cancellation of the import clearance suspension. The court stated, "This item cannot be considered as 'items harmful to public morals' under the Customs Act," and added, "The import clearance suspension decision made on other premises is illegal."

In January last year, Company A declared the import of realdolls from China to Gimpo Airport Customs. However, Gimpo Airport Customs suspended the import clearance, claiming that the realdolls fall under 'items harmful to public morals' as defined by the Customs Act. Company A filed a review request with the Korea Customs Service against this decision, but when it was rejected, they filed this lawsuit.

The key issue in this lawsuit was whether realdolls qualify as 'items harmful to public morals,' i.e., obscene materials. According to Supreme Court precedents, obscene materials are defined as "those that go beyond merely giving a vulgar or licentious impression and explicitly depict or describe sexual organs or acts to an extent that seriously damages or distorts human dignity and value." Under the Customs Act, obscene materials are classified as items that may harm public health and can be subject to import clearance suspension. Gimpo Airport Customs' decision was based on this law.

Company A argued that the realdolls in question do not constitute obscene materials. In contrast, Gimpo Airport Customs countered that "the depiction of intimate parts of the body is detailed," thus qualifying as obscene materials. The realdolls in question are adult products made of silicone material closely resembling the skin color of an adult female body, with the breasts and genitals emphasized in darker colors.

However, the court ruled that the realdolls in question cannot be considered 'obscene materials.' The court stated, "Although the appearance of an adult female is expressed in detail, it does not reach the level of being so similar that it is difficult to distinguish from an actual person." It further explained, "There is almost no possibility of confusion with a real person," and "It is merely a full-body doll and does not explicitly emphasize specific sexual parts in a blatant manner."

Previously, in June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in a similar case that "the import of realdolls should not be blocked." At that time, the Supreme Court found no problem with the lower court's ruling that realdolls cannot be considered obscene materials. This ruling effectively legalized the import of realdolls in South Korea.