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South Korean police bust spouse swapping website for obscenity
By William Sparrow and agencies
March 23, 2005
Police have busted the operator and members of an online swingers community in
South Korea. The nation’s largest partner-swapping site with more than 5,000
registered members, had in one year arranged over 400 sexual encounters
involving both unmarried individuals and married couples.
More than 150 suspected South Korean swingers have been questioned by police so
far for possibly violating pornography laws by posting naked pictures of
themselves on a Web site for spouse swapping.
Members are said to include upper-class Koreans. Busan police detained on
Tuesday a 37-year-old man identified as Yu for founding and operating the
website and arranging for what police described as "abnormal" sexual relations
between the community's members.
Yu founded the site in September 2003, recruited members for the site, and
arranged for sexual encounters including partner swaps and group sex. Videos
and pictures from the encounters were put on the site, and police suspect Yu
made over W50 million (US$50,000) from membership fees.
The website included some 1,200 photos and videos, 300 of which were taken by
members during their sexual encounters.
Among the trysts Yu is suspected of having arranged was a December 16, 2004
orgy in a guesthouse in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province involving 16 members who
engaged in partner swapping and two-on-one sex. Police believe site members
engaged in over 400 sexual encounters in all and plan to call 200 members
suspected of involvement for questioning.
Yu told police members would look at nude photos or videos of couples having
sex, and if they liked what they saw, they would contact the site and arrange
to have sex with the individuals in places like hotels. He said high-income
earners including the CEO of a mid-sized firm made up the bulk of the
community's members.
Yu classified members into four categories according to their activity, taking
into account the photos they took of themselves, their sexual encounters and
payment of membership dues. Men were required to be over 25 to join, and women
over 23. Membership fees were W32,000 for two months, with the option of a
W120,000 lifetime registration fee. Police said about 450 users were lifetime
members.
The police have evidence of more than 400 meetings between members on the Web
site where they swapped partners or engaged in group sex, media reports said.
However, police admit to being on shaky ground. They say while swinging may be
detrimental to public morality, it is a consensual activity and there are no
legal grounds for punishing it.
Authorities hope to pursue the matter under related pornography and obscenity
laws.
The Web site called "Bubu Plus" had attracted more than 5,000 fee-paying
members over the past two years simply from word of mouth.
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