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Upskirt photo vs. pornography

Posted January. 26, 2016 07:56,   

Updated January. 26, 2016 08:09

한국어

Taking an upskirt photo means taking a photo without being unnoticed woman's body parts. There are yet no set-up criteria to see this as illegal in the U.S. In the states of Texas, Oregon and Washington, taking such pictures are not considered illegal even if they were intended for sexual satisfaction of a man. Only Massachusetts has ruled this as illegal.

In Korea, laws are far stricter than in the U.S. as all photography that could cause sexual humiliation to a victim is subject to punishment. Not only is upskirt photo subject to punishment, but one can be punished when a person takes a photo of a woman in swimming suits at a beach in summer. Yet not all people are punished even if a victim has felt sexual humiliation. A third party judges it given all factors comprehensively including the degree of exposure of certain body parts and angle of the photo taken.

The Supreme Court recently sent back an original verdict to the lower court for a case in which a man took a photo of a woman's body below her face after chasing her to an elevator. The original verdict had sentenced the man to 1 million won (835 U.S. dollars) in penalty. The victim said she felt humiliation and fear. However, the Supreme Court judged the photo didn't cause sexual humiliation as the breast part wasn't exposed and the picture wasn't at all clear. It was an unfit itself that the very photo was classified as an upskirt photo. Yet if the woman had felt fear of the man following her, there should be a way to punish the man as misdemeanor.

A man looking at a sexy woman is not illegal though it could be criticized by his wife or girlfriend. How different is it with a photo taken in a public space in a normal angle? If those photos are illegal, it should be asked why it is illegal and how. While people say pornography can't be defined but can tell when seen, is it also true that one can tell whether a secret photo is illegal just by looking at it? This is a new challenge that smartphones pose to the legal sector.



송평인기자 pisong@donga.com