"Passenger Vehicle Act, No Related Punishment Provisions"
A man openly watched "yadong" (erotic videos) on a bus, causing discomfort among passengers. While some voices call for punishment, arguing that this constitutes sexual harassment, legal experts believe even that is not easy.
Man in his 20s also pointed his phone at the face of a middle school student sitting in the back
According to a YTN report on the 23rd, at around 4:30 p.m. on the 15th, a male passenger openly watched obscene videos while seated on a city bus in Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do. A middle school student sitting alone in the back witnessed this and reported it.
The middle school student who reported the incident said, "While riding the bus, a man who looked to be in his early 20s got on in front and suddenly held his phone up high," adding, "My eyes naturally went to the phone screen, and I saw that he was playing explicit content openly."
He continued, "I thought maybe he didn’t realize someone was behind him, so I tried shaking my bag and bumped my head against the window to make noise, but he kept playing it."
He also said, "Not only did he watch the explicit video with his phone raised, but he repeatedly pointed the blank part of the phone screen (where the video was not playing) at my face in the back," expressing, "The first feelings that came to me were fear and terror."
The middle school passenger reportedly got off the bus due to discomfort and fear.
"No separate punishment regulations... Courts must make different judgments" Urgent need for legal reform
At around 4:30 PM on the 15th, a male passenger openly watched an obscene video while seated on a city bus in Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do. [Photo by YTN]
Legal experts have judged that it is difficult to punish the male passenger in this situation.
Park Harin, a lawyer at YK Law Firm, explained to the media, "In the case of subways, the 'Railway Safety Act' applies, and for buses, the 'Passenger Transport Service Act' applies. Unlike the Railway Safety Act, which explicitly prohibits acts causing sexual shame, the Passenger Transport Service Act does not separately regulate this."
He added, "However, if the problematic act is considered 'sexual harassment,' there is room to review general criminal law or special criminal laws rather than transportation-related laws. For example, Article 13 of the 'Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes' punishes acts that deliver words, sounds, writings, pictures, videos, or objects that cause sexual shame or disgust to the other party."
However, he noted, "There is a high possibility that the act of watching a phone by an individual may not be considered (in the legal sense) as 'delivering' to the other party," but added, "As awareness of sexual crimes and sexual harassment is increasing in our society, courts may judge differently if they consider such incidents socially problematic and the harm to ordinary citizens significant."
Lawyer Park emphasized the urgent need for legal reform, stating, "The problem can be solved through amendments to the relevant legal provisions."
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