South Korea women hold record mass rally against ‘spycam porn’

SEOUL: Tens of thousands of South Korean women staged a mass rally in Seoul on Saturday to protest against spycam porn, urging tougher punishments for peeping Toms as anger over the growing scourge boils over.

Since May, the monthly demonstration in Seoul has shattered records to become the biggest-ever women’s protest in South Korea where the global #MeToo movement has unleashed an unprecedented wave of female-led activism.

The primary cause of the protests are so-called spycam videos in a tech-savvy country where news of men caught secretly filming women in schools, offices, trains, or even toilets have made headlines on a daily basis.

Organisers said Saturday’s event drew 70,000 participants, ten thousand more than the previous month’s rally, despite an unprecedented summer heatwave that has pushed the mercury above 37 degrees.

"Women’s toilets in this country are infested with spycams! Please please crack down on the crimes," the women chanted in unison at the city’s Gwanghwamun Plaza which routinely hosts mass rallies. Some waved banners with slogans such as: "We can’t live like this anymore" and "South Korea: the nation of spycams."

Asia’s fourth-largest economy takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast Internet to cutting-edge smartphones.