Seoul man faces Sexual Violence Punishment Act charges over online post about politician.
A man has been forwarded to prosecutors on charges linked to online sexual content, after posting comments that echoed a political figure’s controversial remark. The suspect, identified as A, is accused of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act by using telecommunications to commit obscene acts. He was not detained when the case was sent from the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office in late January.
The accusations stem from a Facebook post last October in which A referenced Lee Jun-seok’s mother by her real name and wrote comments containing sexually explicit language and the term related to “chopsticks.” The case notes that the comment was intended to mirror or mimic the politician’s remarks.
Investigators say A told them the purpose was to inflict the same humiliation on the political figure that he believed the politician had caused, effectively admitting a desire to produce affective harm as part of the act.
The police concluded that psychological gratification sought through the act falls within a sexual motive, based on Supreme Court precedents. This interpretation led them to categorize the conduct as a violation of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
The incident echoes a separate controversy from May of last year, when Lee Jun-seok, then a candidate for president, drew attention for remarks in a TV debate that referenced a woman’s body and the word “chopsticks” in a question directed at candidate Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labour Party. Lee said at the time that he was simply quoting comments reported to have been posted elsewhere by the son of Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung on an online forum.
Previously, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Public Crime Investigation Unit determined there was insufficient evidence and issued a non-indictment decision in late November of last year. Lee Jun-seok’s legal representative, attorney Kim Yeon-gi, described the police action as a proper investigative outcome.
For U.S. readers, the case highlights how online harassment and perceived sexual motives are treated under Korean law, and how social media activity involving political figures can become subjects of formal criminal proceedings. It underscores ongoing questions in the United States about platform moderation, cross-border enforcement, and how similar conduct might be addressed in different legal systems.