Gangseo-gu and Gangseo Police Station Establish Measures to Prevent Illegal Filming in Public Restrooms

Installation of Safety Screens in 55 Public Restrooms within Parks

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jin Gyo-hoon) announced on the 14th that it has installed safety screens (partitions) in public restrooms within parks to prevent digital sex crimes such as illegal filming in public restrooms.

The "safety screen" is a facility that fills the gaps at the bottom of restroom stalls to prevent illegal filming using mobile phones in advance. The district promoted the installation of safety screens to alleviate the anxiety of public restroom users and enable safe use of the facilities.

The appearance after installing the safety screen at the bottom. Provided by Gangseo-gu.

The district installed safety screens under the toilet stalls in a total of 190 locations across 55 public restrooms in Gangseo-gu, including Bongjesan Neighborhood Park and Banghwa Neighborhood Park. Warning signs containing punishment regulations for illegal photography and video recording were also attached to the partitions.

This project began as a proposal from the Hwagok Police Substation of the Seoul Gangseo Police Station to prevent illegal filming sex crimes. It was promoted through the revision of the "Seoul Gangseo-gu Public Restroom Installation and Management Ordinance," which was primarily proposed by Assemblyman Kim Ji-soo (People Power Party, Deungchon 2-dong and Hwagok 4-dong). The revised ordinance added a clause stating that "safety screens must be installed in public restrooms to prevent sex crimes caused by illegal filming, etc."

A representative from the Hwagok Police Substation of the Seoul Gangseo Police Station said, "During patrols, we discovered crime vulnerabilities in park restrooms open to the public and proposed the installation of safety screens to Gangseo-gu as a solution. We will do our best to prevent digital sex crimes to eradicate the recurring illegal filming incidents."

District Mayor Jin Gyo-hoon stated, "By installing safety screens in public park restrooms this time, we expect a significant improvement in crime prevention effects, such as preemptively blocking illegal filming crimes. We will continue to do our best to create an environment where residents can safely use public facilities."