Header image by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images, retrieved from NPR.org.
The K-Pop industry has a notoriously controlled and curated “wholesome” image, but recent scandals have threatened to rock the multibillion-dollar industry and exposed a dark underbelly of prostitution, spy cam porn, and secret group chats for sharing nonconsensual porn.
Several high-profile K-Pop stars have been named as being members of an online group chat that shared sexually explicit videos of women filmed without their knowledge or consent, South Korean police confirmed.
Police say the near-dozen participants in a main chatroom—which includes Seungri, of the influential all-male group Big Bang, rock band F.T. Island member Choi Jong-hoon, and 29-year-old singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young—shared hidden camera footage of sex with drugged and unconscious women.
Korean broadcaster SBS showed the leaked text exchanges, which include Jung responding to a video of one unconscious woman by texting in Korean, “You raped her, LOL.”
News broke this week that Seungri, 28, is also being investigated on suspicion of violating the country’s prostitution law. Outside the police station last week, Seungri paused in front of the reporters and said: “I lower my head and offer apology to the people and people nearby who were hurt and suffered … I will fully engage in investigation with truthful answers.”
Seungri is denying the charges of brokering prostitution. But in statements to the press, Seoul Metropolitan Police say an investigation into his Kakaotalk messages (Kakao is South Korea’s dominant messaging platform) found evidence of “pimping”—they claim he was not only offering different types of women to investors, but he was part of the dark spy cam sharing group with Jung.
Korean wire Yonhap reports Jung is under investigation for secretly recorded and shared videos of his own sexual encounters with at least 10 women he filmed between 2015 and 2016.
Jung is cooperating with police and released the following statement:
“I admit to all my crimes. I filmed women without their consent and shared it in a social media chatroom, and while I did so I didn’t feel a great sense of guilt… More than anything, I kneel and apologize to the women who appear in the videos who have learned of this hideous truth as the incident has come to light.”
NPR reports that the other men who have apologized and suddenly retired from the industry after being implicated in the chat rooms are Choi Jong-hoon, singer from FT Island, and Yong Junhyung, singer from Highlight, who admitted that he was in the chat and saw the videos and did not speak up.
In light of the allegations, Jung’s management company MakeUS Entertainment has dropped him from their label, saying in a statement that, “Our company had judged that we can no longer continue the contract with Jung Joon-young considering the current situation,” Chosun reported.
The epidemic of spy cam porn in South Korea
Imagine a situation where you’re secretly filmed in the shower, bathroom stall, or dressing room, and that private footage is distributed online for the masses to consume and seek out for arousal.
Then, imagine that there’s nothing you can do about it, and law enforcement isn’t really interested in finding and putting to justice whoever did that to you.
Sounds unreal and totally unacceptable, right? But countless women in South Korea say this is what happens to them on a regular basis.
Related: How The Porn Industry Profits Off Of Privacy Violation
Because of these real-life invasive scenarios, many South Korean women have had to take up defensive habits to protect themselves from sexual predators. When climbing the stairs in public places, many women cover themselves with their handbags. Before getting their business done, they scan the corners of public restrooms for cameras, checking holes or nails in unusual spots. These are just a few of many scenarios according to reports by Korea Exposé.
The allegations of the K-Pop star mimic that of what’s going on in the country at large. And now, women are taking a stand and doing something about these regular violations of privacy they deal with.
Last summer, over 22,000 women took to the streets in South Korea to protest against spy cam porn and raise awareness about the alleged uninterest that law enforcement has in prosecuting spycam perpetrators.
The demonstration was the biggest women’s rally thus far in South Korean history (seconded only by the same organizer’s first rally on May 19).
Related: My Ex-Partner Was Arrested For Hiding Cameras In My Teammates’ Locker Room
“Women in Korea are always exposed to illegal filming,” stated the organizer, Women March for Justice, in a press release. “It has been a normal daily life for Korean women to be exposed to illegal filming anytime and anywhere, and to deal with negligent police investigations, secondary harm, and the obscene expressions by the press.”
To put into perspective the alleged inaction and/or discrimination of law enforcement around spycam issues, between 2012 and 2017, out of the nearly 30,000 male suspects investigated by police, less than 3% were arrested for investigation. Out of the 523 female suspects during the same time period, 4 were arrested (0.8%).
Suffice to say, countless South Koreans have had enough. Many are hoping that the developing K-Pop sex scandals will shine a light on this larger issue and give voices to victims who have been filmed without their consent and had that content shared for the world’s entertainment.
Spy cam porn exists for a reason: because there’s a demand for it
This content exists because there’s a demand for it. If consumers stop clicking nonconsensual content, perpetrators lose their power. This is why we’re out to stop the demand for sexual exploitation and pornography.
Can you imagine living like you’re always being watched? Everybody has a right to privacy. No one should fear that their most personal and intimate moments could be uploaded to a website to be viewed by millions, or have to worry that they are being filmed without their consent. Nobody deserves such treatment, and yet this is exactly what the porn industry is doing. The porn industry is fueling exploitation, violations of privacy, and emotional damage because of the content they are creating, publishing, and sharing.
Related: WATCH: This Heartbreaking Video Shows What Being A Revenge Porn Victim Is Like
For all the damage that the porn industry is inflicting on our society, there is one piece of hope: you can change it. Your clicks can make an incredible difference in shutting down these categories of porn. If there is no demand for voyeuristic or revenge porn, the porn industry will not reward it—it’s as simple as that. If we stop the demand, we can stop the exploitation.
Are you with us?
