Obscenity

Obscenity (음란/淫亂) means behaviour, art, or language that is sexual and offends or shocks people. This is an explanation of a dictionary.

Pursuant to Article 245 of the Criminal Act, a person who publicly commits an obscene act shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year, a fine not exceeding five million won, detention or a minor fine. Public obscenity is stipulated as a crime in order to protect the sound sexual behavior or moral of the contemporary Korean society. When a multitude of unspecified individuals recognize what’s happening, a person who stimulates the prurient interest of an average man, makes him sexually excited and humiliated in a usual way, and accordingly hurts sexual moral sense as a whole shall be punished. The illegality shall be established not by the sexual purpose like sexual excitement or satisfaction but the acknowledgment of the meaning of obscenity of such act.

Key words
obscenity, multitude of unspecified individuals, prurient interest, sexually excited, humiliated

Types of Obscenity
Among sex crimes punishable by law, there are six types of obscenity – public obscenity; distribution, etc. of obscene drawings; manufacture, etc. of obscene things; obscene act by compulsion; and obscenity via communication media. The following explanation is almost identical to the article (음란죄) on the Korean Wikipedia because both were written by the same author.
 * 1) Public Obscenity (Art. 245 of Criminal Act): Public obscenity is subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, a fine not exceeding five million won, detention or a minor fine.
 * 2) Distribution, etc. of Obscene Drawings (Art. 243 of Criminal Act): Distribution, sale, lease or public exhibition of obscene bocuments, drawings and other things are subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine not exceeding five million won.
 * 3) Manufacture, etc. of Obscene Things (Art. 244 of Criminal Act): Manufacture, possession, export and import of obscene things for the purpose of distribution, sale or public exhibition of them are subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine not exceeding five million won.
 * 4) Obscene Act by Compulsion (Art. 298 of Criminal Act): Conducts of obscene acts other than sexual intercourse by means of violence or intimidation are subject to imprisonment for not more than ten years, or a fine not exceeding 15 million won. Such act attempted shall be punished, and the personal accusation is required (Arts. 300 and 306 of Criminal Act).
 * 5) Quasi-Obscene Act by Compulsion (Latter sentence of Art. 299 and latter sentence of Art. 305 of Criminal Act): Conducts of obscene acts other than sexual intercourse taking advantage of the other's condition of unconsciousness or inability to resist, or against the minor under 13 years old are subject to imprisonment for not more than ten years, or a fine not exceeding 15 million won.
 * 6) Obscenity via Communication Media (Art. 12 of Special Act to Punish Sexual Violence, etc.): Arrangements of such words, sound, letters, pictures, video clips or things as stimulating sexual humiliation or disgust, to be delivered to the other party by means of telephone, mail, computer and other communication media for the purpose to arouse or satisfy his or other's sexual desire are subject to imprisonment for not more than two years, or a fine not exceeding 5 million won. Victim's personal accusation is required (Art. 15).

Supreme Court Cases
The Korean Supreme Court has established a firm posture against obscenity.

When a man, who had destroyed a car and injured other persons on the expressway, abruptly put off clothes and exposed his privy parts to resist the police arrest, he was ruled to commit an obscene act and have understanding of his action. However, as Subparagraph 41 Article 1 of the Minor Offences Act provides that a person who has his/her naked body exposed, puts on see-through clothes or exposes his/her privy parts in the public places, thereby making others humiliated or disgusted shall be subject to punishment, a proper decision is required. It's because


 * "When a part of one's body was exposed, it should be considered whether it stimulates the prurient interest of an average man, makes him sexually excited and humiliated in a usual way, and accordingly hurts sexual moral sense as a whole in terms of time and date, place, exposed part of the human body, exposition manner and scope, motivation and consequences of such exposition. If, otherwise, it makes simply other person feel shame or displeasure, such act may be subject to Item 41 Article of the Minor Offences Act. In any case, Article 245 of the Criminal Act should not apply to this case, where the accused exposed his buttocks in protest of other's arguments during a quarrel."

But the Supreme Court rendered a distinct decision in a disputed nude performance. At a commercial promotion of yogurt products, naked girls were walking on the stage in front of dozens of spectators including reporters with their bodies covered with wheat powder. Then they sprayed liquid yogurt to strip wheat powder off their bodies, exposing privy parts and bosoms to the very last. Finally the naked girls threw small bottles of yogurt to the audience. The Justices decided such performance should be subject to the public obscenity. The Supreme Court decision said, "Although such performances might be interpreted as clean body reborn after yogurt products clean up body wastes like wheat powder, the main purpose of such performances was to promote the yogurt products for commercial benefits. As the exposition manner and scope in question seemed beyond the scope necessary for the promotion of products, such nature of obscenity cannot be denied."

Obscenity and Other Issues
See Obscenity and Indecency and other issues like art, freedom of expression, cybercrimes, etc.