Man indicted for operating a site for swingers

Posted on : 2007-07-10 11:52 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Operator objects to court intervention in private sexual affairs

A 39-year-old South Korean man was indicted again on charges of allegedly operating an Internet site for swingers, named Couple Plus, which facilitated sex between couples or groups of couples.

On July 9, the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office arrested and indicted a Web site operator, whose name was withheld for privacy but for his surname Yoo on charges of running an illegal obscene website. In addition, the site’s 53 registered members were fined or given suspended indictment.

Yoo’s indictment came less than two years after he was sentenced to 10 months in jail on a two-year suspended sentence in 2005 for operating the Web site, which had some 5,000 registered members at the time. As soon as Yoo was released, he reopened the site. At the time of sentencing, Yoo appeared to be remorseful and accepting of his punishment. In articles he posted on a members-only bulletin board, however, he strongly accused the court of intervening in individuals’ right to privacy in their sexual affairs. Swinging refers to a wide range of sexual activities undertaken between couples, usually married, or can indicate the kind of lifestyle taken up by couples interested in having sexual relations with other couples.

When prosecutors found that the Couple Plus site was again operating in May this year, the site had some 8,000 registered members, including about 1,100 paid members. The swingers, including office workers, self-employed people and professors, seek sexual partners by posting sexually explicit pictures or articles related to swinging on the site. In one incident facilitated by the site, eight couples traveled together to a suburb to have sex with each other. Some of the married couples even brought their children with them, and had sex with the other couples after they had put their children to sleep.

In an apparent defensive measure against potential prosecution, Yoo banned members from posting videos and allowed them to upload only pixilated photographs. As there is no legal statue governing these kinds of sexual relationships between consenting adults, the prosecutors can file only against those who post pornography and obscene stories, as they have with Yoo, the site operator.

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