According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean football player Hwang Ui-jo has been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended, for illegally filming a sexual encounter with a woman. This case has once again raised public concern about surreptitious filming crimes and discussions on the protection of victims' rights.
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03-06, 2025Hwang Ui-jo, 32, previously played for clubs such as Norwich City and Nottingham Forest and currently plays for Alanyaspor in Turkey. He is also a member of the South Korean national team, but was suspended due to allegations that surfaced in 2023. The Seoul court stated that "considering the serious harm caused to society by illegal filming, [Hwang Ui-jo] must be severely punished."
However, the court also noted that Hwang Ui-jo showed remorse and that the videos were posted on social media by a third party. Hwang Ui-jo said he was "very sorry" for causing "disappointment" during his first court appearance in December last year. The videos were initially shared on social media by Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law in June last year in an attempt to extort him.
Hwang Ui-jo sued his sister-in-law, who was sentenced to three years in prison in September last year for extortion. However, the allegations against Hwang Ui-jo continued, with prosecutors claiming that he filmed sexual encounters with two women four times in 2022 without their consent. He initially claimed innocence, but admitted to the illegal filming charges in October last year. He was found guilty of charges related to one woman, but acquitted of charges related to another woman.
In South Korea, hidden cameras secretly filming women and their sexual encounters are a nationwide problem. In the past decade, thousands of people have been arrested for taking voyeuristic images and videos, sparking fear and anger among women nationwide. The verdict in this case also re-emphasizes South Korean society's zero-tolerance attitude towards surreptitious filming crimes, as well as the need to improve relevant laws and regulations.
