South Korean news anchor resigns after allegation of photo taken without consent
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea continues to be rocked by sex crimes allegations as two television figures face claims of misconduct.
A prominent South Korean news anchor has been booked without detention for allegedly taking pictures of a woman's "lower-half body" in a subway station without her consent. Anchor Kim Sung-joon resigned from all of his programs at Seoul Broadcasting System as a series of spy-cam related crimes by celebrities have rocked the nation.
Kim was arrested at the scene as he allegedly attempted to take pictures of a woman at the Yeongdeung-po subway station on July 3. An eyewitness warned the alleged victim she was being photographed, and she called police.
"Police requested a digital forensic investigation on Kim's mobile phone, to follow the regular procedure," Kim Jae-jeong, an officer at Yeongdeungpo Police station in Seoul, confirmed to ABC News. The forensics team is investigating whether there are more photographs that may have been illegally acquired.
After resigning from SBS on Monday, Kim sent a text message to acquaintances saying: "I apologize to the victim and family members who were offended because of me. I will attend the investigations with sincerity."
Kim began his career at SBS in 1991, anchored the evening news from 2016 to 2017 and hosted a current affairs radio show beginning in 2017.
He initially denied the allegations, but police found the alleged photograph on his mobile phone, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.
Yeongdeungpo Police station confirmed this case was related to a former journalist but would not confirm additional details so as to protect the alleged victim.
The allegations against Kim come as the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced measures to protect citizens from becoming spy-camera victims. The city launched a spy-cam inspection team of 39 people to monitor hidden cameras in public bathrooms.
In South Korea, more than 6,000 crimes related to illegal filming were reported in 2017, a five-fold increase from 2010, according to the Korean National Police Agency.
This news comes as television actor Kang Ji-hwan was arrested for investigation on charges of sexual molestation Wednesday at his residence in Gwangju city, south of Seoul.
Police arrived and separated Kang from the two women who claimed to have been victims of sexual assault, according to Yonhap. He is accused of sexually molesting two women, who were contract workers helping out with his drama shoot schedules. At the police station, Kang claimed "he could not remember anything after drinking" and that "he woke up in the room the two women were sleeping."
Kang's agency Huayi brothers Entertainment Co., Ltd. said in a statement that Kang will cancel all schedules and sincerely attend investigations.
