The call to make 'semen terrorism' a punishable crime are growing strongly in South Korea with politicians considering to make amendments to the existing laws. The issue gained momentum after several offenders were let off the hook by the courts after being charged for 'property damage.'
According to the South Korean law, a perpetrator must exercise violence or intimidation in order for the offence to be recognized as a sex crime, such as molestation or rape.
What Qualifies as Semen Terrorism?
The term coined by the Korean internet users 'Semen Terrorism' refers to the act committed by men by either ejaculating on a woman's property or putting an item containing semen on her person.
The Guardian reported that in 2019, a man who smeared a woman's shoes with his semen was slapped a 500,000 won fine ($435), since the investigation was carried out on charges of "property damage".
In another case a man, who mixed his semen and phlegm along with 54 other items, to a woman's coffee, as a revenge for rejecting his proposal, was charged with "attempted injury" and given three years imprisonment.
The outlet also reported about a May 2021 case in which a civil servant was slapped a fine of 3 million won for ejaculating inside his female colleague's coffee tumbler six times over the course of half a year. In his judgement, the court ruled that the action of the accused, who was charged under 'property damage', "ruined" the utility of the container.
South Korean Law Makers Fight to Amend Laws Related Sex Crime
Speaking to the outlet, Baek Hye-ryun, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic party, said that the victim [in the coffee tumbler case] was sexually humiliated, but it was not considered a sex crime because it was not seen as involving direct physical contact. "By charging the perpetrator with 'damage of property', his act was judged to have infringed on the utility of the tumbler," said Baek, who submitted an amendment bill to the national assembly last month. "Sex crimes need to be interpreted from the victim's point of view," she went on to add.
Calling every sex crime a crime, said Choi Won-jin, secretary general of the civic group Korean Womenlink, said: "This isn't a random act of violence in the street, it's targeting a specific gender."
"Just like other incidents that brought about legal revisions, it's a matter of expanding our understanding of the pain that can be caused to a person and making the necessary changes," Choi told the outlet.
