"Dozing Off Then Waking Up to Laugh at Adult Content Again"
Fines Possible Under Railroad Safety Act
Bus Regulations Lack Provisions, Making Punishment Difficult
A video showing a man who fell asleep while playing so-called 'yadong' (adult videos) on his cellphone inside the subway has been revealed. The man repeatedly dozed off and woke up while watching adult content, causing discomfort among onlookers.
According to a JTBC report on the 24th, a man was caught sleeping while watching adult content on his cellphone inside the Seoul Subway Line 1 bound for Gwangwoon University Station at 11 a.m. on the 20th.
The video shows a man wearing blue clothes sitting on a subway seat, leaning forward and dozing off. The cellphone in his hand was playing adult content, and other passengers were seated on both sides of him.
The informant said, "The man dozed off and woke up, then laughed while watching the adult content again," adding, "I even wondered if he might have some kind of problem."
Previously, in 2015, a video of a middle-aged man watching obscene videos on Subway Line 1 without even wearing earphones became a hot topic among netizens.
A netizen who shared the video said, "The women around him were uncomfortable, but the sound from the (obscene video) did not stop for about 20 minutes," describing the situation at the time.
Oh Yoon-sung, a professor in the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University, pointed out regarding the reported video, "This is a situation that can cause (sexual) shame to others."
There are regulations that can punish those who openly watch obscene materials on the subway. Article 47, Paragraph 1 of the Railroad Safety Act prohibits "acts that cause sexual shame to passengers, etc." Violating this can result in a fine of up to 5 million won.
Unlike the criminal offense of forcible molestation under the Criminal Act, this applies even without direct physical contact. Watching 19+ videos can be punishable if it causes sexual shame to other passengers.
Whether sexual shame was caused is determined by factors such as ▲the size of the video screen or volume ▲the attitude while watching the video ▲whether the person continued watching despite others' objections.
If the location where the video was watched was a bus, punishment may be difficult. Passengers on buses are subject to the Transportation Safety Act, not the Railroad Safety Act, and the Transportation Safety Act does not have provisions prohibiting acts that cause sexual shame.
Therefore, if you see someone watching obscene videos on the subway or public transportation, in the case of a bus, report it to the driver, and in the case of the subway, press the emergency button next to the priority seats for the elderly and disabled to contact the staff and take appropriate action.
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