The Activities of Hundreds of Hotel Guests in South Korea Have Been Live-Streamed Over Hidden Cameras

Just days after several K-pop pop stars made headlines for filming women without their knowledge, police announced that videos of approximately 1,600 hotel guests were secretly live-streamed to an unnamed subscription website in South Korea.

Two men have been arrested and two more are being investigated in connection to hidden cameras found in 42 hotel rooms in 30 budget hotels across 10 South Korean cities, according to CNN. The cameras were concealed in television boxes, hairdryer mounts and wall sockets in various properties, which have not been named.

“There was a similar case in the past where illegal cameras were (secretly installed) and were consistently and secretly watched, but this is the first time the police caught where videos were broadcast live on the internet,” police said, according to CNN.

The news is the latest development in the “spy-cam” epidemic which has caused outrage in the country. More than 30,000 cases of “surreptitious filming” have been reported to the police since 2013, according to the New York Times. Secret cameras, mostly targeting women, have been found in public restrooms, on public transport, and in gyms among other places.

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Even celebrities have been caught up in the scandal. Just last week, the Korean singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young reportedly admitted to filming himself having sex with multiple women and sharing the footage with other K-pop stars via text message.

Last July, tens of thousands of protestors marched in Seoul to urge the authorities do more to protect women from being filmed without their knowledge. Some women carried signs that read “my life is not your porn.”

In response, the government has hired thousands of workers to conduct daily checks in public bathrooms for hidden cameras.