December 27, 2022
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Sex dolls spark debate in South Korea
South Korean authorities have lifted the import ban on adultsized sex dolls.
The decision comes after years of debate over whether the government interferes in the private lives of the South Korean people.
The recent change now allows dolls shaped like adults to enter the country through customs.
But dolls that look like minors are still banned, according to Korea’s Customs Service.
Sex dolls are not illegal in South Korea. Since 2018, however, thousands of them have been confiscated at the country’s customs.
Authorities banned the importation of fullsize sex objects under a law restricting products deemed “harmful to South Korea’s traditions and public morals.”
The importers first turned to the courts and asked for the ban to be relaxed and for the dolls to be declared through customs. They argued that the products “do not violate human dignity”.
In 2019, the country’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling that sex dolls are for personal use and fall into the same category as pornography, which is tightly regulated but legally legal.
However, around 250,000 people signed a petition to stop the import of these dolls. The question’s author, who did not identify himself, said the products could “lead to an increase in sex crimes.”
Credit, Portal
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Life size dolls on display at a sex products fair, The Sex Expo, in South Africa
A thousand dolls kept at customs
The problem was solved when customs officials decided to lift the ban.
In a statement, they said the decision was taken after reviewing recent court rulings and advice from relevant government agencies, including the Department for Gender Equality and Family.
The ruling also allows importers to take their products out of state custody. Customs officials said they still have more than 1,000 sex dolls that have arrived in South Korea in the past four years.
On the other hand, customs officials say they have banned the entry of sex dolls that resemble real people like celebrities.
It is unclear whether the sales ban also applies to domestically produced sex dolls that look like minors such restrictions exist in Australia, the UK and the US.