Wearing Holey Sneakers, 'Sseuk'... Suspicious Man on Subway Caught as a 'Molka' Perpetrator

30 Cases of Illegal Filming on Christmas Day
Arrested in the Act Following Citizen Reports

A man who drilled a small hole in his sneakers and hid a miniature camera inside to illegally film female subway passengers was caught.

[Image source=Channel A news screen capture]

On the 29th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul booked and is investigating a man identified as A on charges of illegal filming using a camera under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act. A is suspected of illegal filming at a subway station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. On that day, taking advantage of the crowded platform due to Christmas, he drilled a small hole in his sneakers and hid a miniature camera with a lens diameter of about 3 cm to conduct illegal filming.

CCTV footage inside the subway station captured A discreetly stretching his leg behind a female passenger waiting for the train. A citizen who observed A’s behavior found it suspicious and reported it to the police. Another citizen blocked A from leaving the subway station, and the police arrived at the scene within five minutes and arrested A on the spot.

According to the police investigation, about 150 illegal recordings dating back to 2021 were found on A’s mobile phone and miniature camera. It was revealed that A had filmed about 30 illegal recordings on the day of his arrest alone. During the police investigation, A stated, "I saw posts online about illegal filming using miniature cameras and copied the method." The police are investigating whether A committed additional crimes and the distribution of illegal recordings.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Citizens are waiting for the train at Sadang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Meanwhile, illegal filming in places such as subways is punishable under Article 14 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. This article stipulates that anyone who films a person’s body, which may arouse sexual desire or shame, against the subject’s will using a camera or a similar device, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to seven years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

The quarterly crime trend report from the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy revealed that there were 3,111 cases of illegal filming crimes in the first half of this year. Looking at the numbers by year, the cases sharply increased from 686 in 2018 to 5,881 in 2019, then slightly decreased to 5,168 in 2020, before rising again to 6,525 in 2021 and 7,108 last year. Over the past five years, there have been a total of 30,768 illegal filming crimes, averaging 17 cases per day.