--- description: Stocks of a South Korean condom company increased 15% Thursday after news broke that the country decriminalized adultery. title: South Korea Decriminalizes Adultery, Condom Shares Soar image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25de0a1ee32c0df4/6987811ce53aba15454d7c92/gettyimages_175760682.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Korea](/tag/south-korea/) ## South Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # South Korea Decriminalizes Adultery, Condom Shares Soar by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2015 9:04 AM CUT  An employee unwraps condoms during testing in the research laboratory at the Unidus Corp. factory in Jeungpyeong, South Korea, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013. An employee unwraps condoms during testing in the research laboratory at the Unidus Corp. factory in Jeungpyeong, South Korea, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2015 9:04 AM CUT Stocks of a South Korean condom company [increased](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/26/us-southkorea-adultery-idUSKBN0LU0FR20150226 "undefined") 15% after news broke that the country decriminalized adultery. The law against adultery was approved in 1953 and upheld in 2008 under the pretext of protecting social harmony. However, citing grounds of personal freedom, seven judges in a nine-judge panel rejected the ban as unconstitutional Thursday. “The law is unconstitutional as it infringes people’s right to make their own decisions on sex and secrecy and freedom of their private life, violating the principle banning excessive enforcement under the constitution,” said Constitutional Court justice Seo Ki-seok. The news saw a 15% jump in shares of Unidus Corp, a manufacturer of condoms. Some 892 South Koreans were indicted last year for adultery, though none faced jail time. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/26/us-southkorea-adultery-idUSKBN0LU0FR20150226 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3723528/south-korea-adultery-condoms/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3723528/south-korea-adultery-condoms/"},"headline":"South Korea Decriminalizes Adultery, Condom Shares Soar","datePublished":"2015-02-26T09:04:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:14:08.779Z","description":"Well, that figures","url":"https://time.com/3723528/south-korea-adultery-condoms/","keywords":["South Korea","stocks","condoms"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25de0a1ee32c0df4/6987811ce53aba15454d7c92/gettyimages_175760682.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25de0a1ee32c0df4/6987811ce53aba15454d7c92/gettyimages_175760682.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Inside a Unidus Condom Factory Ahead Of Export Price Index Release","caption":"Inside a Unidus Condom Factory Ahead Of Export Price Index Release","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-korea/","name":"South Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3723528/south-korea-adultery-condoms/","name":"South Korea Decriminalizes Adultery, Condom Shares Soar"}}]}] ```