Sexual Harassment on Subway Without CCTV... Victim's Outcry: "Is This Really 2021?"

Victim "Hopes No More Closing the Barn After Losing the Cow"
Song Young-gil "Will Prioritize Budget for Installing CCTV in Subway"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] An incident occurred on the Line 1 express train where a man threatened a woman with a weapon, sexually assaulted her, and then fled.

On the morning of the 25th, on Line 1 heading from Yongsan Station to Noryangjin Station in Seoul, a man in his 50s pushed a woman in her 20s, Ms. A, into the priority seat, pressed a weapon to her neck, sexually assaulted her, and then escaped. It is known that only Ms. A and the man were on the train at the time.

The man who fled was caught by the police after 11 hours.

After the incident, Ms. A expressed in an interview with a media outlet, "I was so scared at that moment that I desperately hoped someone would come to rescue me," adding, "But no one came to help, and later I found out that there were no CCTV cameras inside the train where the incident occurred," revealing her feelings of helplessness.

Upon learning that there were no CCTV cameras inside the subway, Ms. A said, "Since the subway is a closed space, if a crime occurs, the victim can only be helpless, but if CCTV is installed, initial response can be carried out quickly," and raised her voice, saying, "I hope there will be no more cases of locking the barn after losing the cow."

She also expressed frustration, saying, "I can't believe such a thing happened in South Korea in 2021," and "Is it reasonable that there are no CCTV cameras inside the train?"

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, regarding this incident, Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that the budget for installing CCTV in subways will be allocated as a top priority.

On the morning of the 30th, during the remarks at the Supreme Council meeting, Leader Song said, "A sexual crime involving a weapon occurred on Line 1 of the subway," and added, "Although it was early in the morning, I cannot hide my shock that such a shocking crime happened in a public place with a large flow of people."

He continued, "Especially since there was no CCTV inside the train at the time of the incident, a more horrific crime could have occurred," and pointed out, "Although the installation of CCTV inside trains was mandated through the amendment of the Urban Railway Act in 2014, the installation rate is still only 37.5%."

Leader Song emphasized, "Among Seoul subways, there are no CCTV cameras installed on Lines 1, 3, and 4, and only 6% on Line 5 and 3% on Line 6," adding, "The related required budget is estimated to be about 59 billion KRW. Since this is directly related to citizens' safety, it is necessary to allocate and execute the budget as a top priority."