While police say there were at least 26 000 complaints made from 2012-2014 and that 98% of perpetrators in molka cases are men, recent high-profile crackdowns by the government on female recorders of men have added fuel to the fire and lead to accusations of sexism and gender bias against the country’s police and judicial system.
The government has unveiled a new plan to combat the epidemic – 8,000 government workers will check for spycams in the capital’s 20,554 public toilets, a job previously handled by a staff of only 50 who had found no cameras in the past two years.
Phones sold in South Korea are required by law to make an audible sound when taking pictures but molka enthusiasts have found other ways to capture footage – hiding cameras in pens, watches and shoes.