ON JULY 4, 2022, a student suspected of illegally filming in the women’s bathroom on the 1st floor of Sinchon Campus’s Yonsei University Medical Library was reported to the police[1]. While mol-ka[2] crimes are not foreign to South Koreans, this particular case caught people’s attention as it concerned students from one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

The alleged crime

   Upon arrival at the scene, the police arrested the suspect without a warrant. The suspect, still hiding in the bathroom at the time of the arrest, turned out to be a 21-year-old student enrolled in the College of Medicine at Yonsei University. Reports indicate that he trespassed the women's bathroom at around 6:50 p.m. and secretly filmed the female student in the neighboring cubicle with his phone. While the suspect initially denied the allegations and claimed to have entered the bathroom accidentally, the police confirmed the accuser’s allegations after conducting digital forensic analysis on the suspect’s phone[1].

   On July 7, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office issued an arrest warrant for the suspect due to the risk of destruction of evidence[1]. Then, on July 19, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office arrested and indicted the suspect for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes[3]. The College of Medicine at Yonsei University held a disciplinary committee concerning allegations against the student, but could not proceed after his arrest warrant was issued[1]. A representative from the College of Medicine told The Yonsei Annals that they have not been able to meet the suspect, as he was immediately arrested at the scene, and that a disciplinary committee concerning this case is still ongoing.

   On August 8, the first trial was held, where the prosecution revealed that the suspect had previously committed similar crimes upon multiple occasions. According to reports, the suspect entered the women’s bathroom at the Yonsei University Medical Library four times this year, between June 17 and July 4. During these trespasses, he filmed women in neighboring cubicles a total of 32 times with his phone. The suspect’s lawyer said that the suspect acknowledges his crimes and is remorseful. The lawyer also commented that the victim was contacted to reach an agreement with the suspect, which has not yet been reached. As of now, his second trial date is set to be on September 28[4].

The aftermath of the crime

   This case sent shockwaves across the Yonsei student community. In an interview with the Annals, Kang Jin-seok (Soph., Dept. of French Language and Lit.) revealed that this case came as a huge shock, especially since a medical student was accused of committing the crime. Another student Lee Chae-eun (Soph., Dept. of Economics) said that illegal filming cases always seemed distant but to hear that it happened so close to her was surprising, especially as she realized that a similar crime could happen to her and her peers.

   There were mixed opinions on whether this affected the adequacy of the school’s security measures. Kang replied that his opinion on Yonsei’s safety measures did not particularly change since it was not the school’s responsibility, but rather the fault of the immoral individual. However, another student, Student A—who wished to remain anonymous—said that it did change how she felt about Yonsei’s safety. She stated that she was always concerned about being filmed illegally in public places, such as public bathrooms. However, she always viewed the school as a safe place, since the buildings are mostly accessible to members of the Yonsei community only. However, hearing that the crimes were committed by a student within the circle made her feel unsafe and uncomfortable.

Illegal filming crimes at universities

   Unfortunately, this is not the first time a medical student from Yonsei University has been accused of illegally filming other individuals. Another medical student from Yonsei was investigated for sexual harassment and illegal filming crimes committed on May 13, 2022 around midnight. This student was accused of making inappropriate physical contact and secretly taking photos of a female member from the same student club on a bus while she was asleep. It was reported that the accused student voluntarily dropped out of school[5].

   These two cases have stoked criticism of the already controversial Medical Service Act in South Korea. Currently, even those with criminal records can take the national medical exam and obtain a medical license to work as a doctor, provided that they graduate from a medical school. Although there have been attempts to revise this law and prevent those with sexual offenses from obtaining or maintaining medical licenses, there has been little success due to the strong opposition from certain medical groups. An infamous case related to this controversy is the medical student from Korea University’s College of Medicine who was sentenced to prison for sexually harassing and illegally filming a drunk female student in 2011. This student then retook the college entrance exam in 2014, was accepted into Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Medicine, and was suspected of preparing to take the national medical exam[6].

A step in the right direction

   Yonsei University tries to create a safe learning environment for its students through various initiatives, including the mandatory Gender-based Violence Prevention program held by Yonsei’s Center for Gender Equity. This program aims to educate Yonsei students about various forms of violence, such as sexual harassment and domestic violence[7]. In an interview with the Annals, a representative from the Center for Gender Equity commented that preventative education will be emphasized in their programs to put a stop to the recurrence of these types of crimes. Other efforts by the school include regular examinations of bathrooms on campus to ensure there are no hidden cameras installed. The representative from the Center of Gender Equity added that such illegal filming detection systems will be strengthened. Additionally, on July 22, 2022, Yonsei’s General Student Council conducted searches for illegal filming devices in various student facilities on campus to ensure safe facilities are provided to Yonsei students[8]. The representative from Yonsei’s College of Medicine stated that the school is still in the process of developing systems to prevent recurrences of such crimes. However, the specifics of their plans have not yet been made clear.

   This being said, the suspect was still able to get away on multiple occasions and was only caught when the female student reported him herself. This indicates that there are still shortcomings in safety measures that enabled the suspect to continue for some time. Yonsei University students also believe that Yonsei still has room for improvement. Kang said that he “presumes that there is not enough education from Yonsei on warning [students] about illegal filming crimes. But I also believe that the education [on illegal filming crimes] should be promoted nationwide, and not [just] from a single university.” Student A said that she does not think Yonsei does enough to protect students because she has “only seen posters in bathrooms reminding [students] that filming is illegal.” Student A also believes that Yonsei needs to be more vocal about the issue and possibly create educational programs that emphasize the seriousness of such crimes. Lee said that an active response is necessary since she has not directly seen or felt Yonsei’s efforts to protect students from illegal filming crimes.

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   While these types of crimes are uncommon instances at Yonsei University, occurrences of such events remind us that there are still improvements that can be made to guarantee the safety of students on campus. Hopefully, Yonsei will be able to be transparent and direct in their response to this case and implement appropriate measures to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.

[1] The JoongAng

[2] Mol-ka: A colloquial term referring to hidden cameras

[3]The Kyunghyang Shinmun

[4]The Dong-a Ilbo

[5]Yonhap News

[6]Hankook Ilbo

[7] Yonsei University Center for Gender Equity

[8] Yonsei University General Student Council