Hundreds of hotel guests filmed secretly in South Korea

The South Korean police have uncovered a major illegal spy-cam scandal, with around 1,600 people being illegally filmed in their hotel rooms across the country and footage being live-streamed online.

The scandal involves 42 rooms in 30 accommodations in 10 cities across South Korea, according to CNN. Two men have been arrested so far, while another pair is being investigated in connection with the illegal acts.

Cameras were allegedly concealed inside digital TV boxes, wall sockets and hairdryer holders while the footage was streamed online, according to South Korea's National Police Agency.

The police have until now stated that is no indication that the hotels were complicit in the scandal.

Meanwhile, the site - where the footage was streamed live - had more than 4,000 members out of which 97 people paid USD 44.95 per month to gain access to features like replaying certain footage.

"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," the police stated.

Thousands of women have previously protested against the raging illegal filming issue in South Korea, raising slogans like "My Life is Not Your Porn," to demand action from the authorities. In fact, more than 6,400 cases of illegal filming were reported to the police in 2017 alone, as compared to about 2,400 cases in 2012.

The authorities in Seoul have launched initiatives like a special squad of women inspectors who conduct regular inspections of public washrooms across the city. However, the move has been slammed as inadequate and superficial.

The co-owner of a South Korean revenge porn site was sentenced to four years in jail this January, along with being ordered to pay USD 1.26 million in fines. Apart from this, the convicted woman was also directed to take 80 hours of sexual violence education.