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By Yoon Ja-young
A man was found guilty of a sex crime for filming his wife as she engaged in an extramarital affair. The couple was in the midst of divorce proceedings.
The appellate department of Ulsan District Court sentenced a man in his 50s to a fine of 1 million won ($850) and 40 hours in a sexual violence treatment program for the violation.
The man was indicted for breaking into a studio apartment in Ulsan on an early morning in August of last year, inflicting violence on his wife and the man who was with her, and filming them with his smartphone. He used a ladder to climb up to the window and gain entry to the premises.
He had secretly followed his wife, who had left home after an argument. He then broke into the premises she had entered and was infuriated to find her with the man, both in their underwear.
The lower court had found the husband guilty only for breaking into the studio apartment and inflicting violence, and had sentenced him to a 2-million-won fine for these acts. It had determined that his filming them with a smartphone doesn't constitute a sexual crime, since it was aimed at collecting evidence of adultery. It also pointed out that the five-second recorded video doesn't include any content that triggers sexual desire or sexual humiliation. It ruled that the filming induced moral humiliation, rather than sexual humiliation.
The appellate court, however, overturned this ruling. It noted that the man filmed them even though he was aware that they were only wearing underwear. It determined that the wife must have felt humiliated and fearful when she was covering her face with a blanket. The court added that it also took into consideration the fact that the couple was going through a divorce suit.
