Women's groups visited the New Politics Party headquarters to protest.
"Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi denigrated women's rights and insulted female politicians by advocating for pornography in the National Assembly. The Women's Groups United were shocked and horrified to see a member of the National Assembly, representing the people, making sexist and misogynistic remarks without any sense of guilt. We urge immediate party-level action and countermeasures!"
As protests intensified, the New Politics Party issued an apology statement.
"First, we apologize to those who were hurt by Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi's remarks. Our party recognizes that Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi's remarks were highly inappropriate and anti-human rights, and we deeply regret this responsibility. As per your request, we will initiate disciplinary procedures at the party level."
However, Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi, the person who made the remarks, did not back down.
"What exactly is the problem with my remarks? Is being in favor of legalizing pornography sexist and misogynistic? In Korea, prostitution is illegal, pornography is illegal, and even importing sex dolls is illegal. How is this any different from preventing people from building toilets and telling them not to urinate on the street? Rather than apologize against my will under pressure, I would rather leave the New Politics Party."
The internet was once again seething.
– Anyone can see that Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi was wrong. Wrong for being born in Korea. Wrong for speaking truth, not nonsense, in the National Assembly.
– So what exactly is the abusive language they're talking about? I watched the video over and over, and I couldn't find it.
– Yeah. If they don't like it, it's abusive language.
-ㅋㅋㅋ Insulted female politicians. From now on, when Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye speaks, shut up and listen!
– A true scholar has appeared to face the Sip-Seonbi!
– Tsk tsk! To think that someone like that is a member of the National Assembly. You can see the level of Korean politics. That person is presidential material!
– I never knew there was such an excellent lawmaker in Korea.
– I sincerely regret badmouthing all the National Assembly members until now.
– Whether it's the general election or the presidential election, if he just runs, I will unconditionally vote for him.
– Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi will take care of everything. There is hope, there is hope.
– That's right. I've been living without hope until now…
– Does the New Politics Party even have any sense? What exactly are they going to discipline him for?
– Why are you discouraging our Assemblyman!
– We must protect him! Men, let's unite and protect him!
– If they discipline him, I will also leave the party!
– Let's all leave the New Politics Party!
– Let's leave the New Politics Party and create Seong-gwi Party! Let's go!
– That's a bit…
Thousands of posts about leaving the party flooded the New Politics Party website.
The New Politics Party leadership, which was trying to initiate disciplinary procedures, was taken aback. If they actually disciplined Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi, an exodus of party members might occur.
Women's groups' protests continued to pour in, Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi was refusing to apologize, and disciplining him was feared to cause a large-scale party member defection. But not disciplining him would cause female lawmakers within the party to rebel.
In this situation where they couldn't go forward or backward, the party's approval rating was showing signs of decline. The only consolation was that the Liberty National Party's approval rating was falling even more sharply.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-jun sighed, clutching his head with both hands.
'This is all because Kang Jin-hoo wanted regulatory reform? Nothing good ever comes from getting involved with Kang Jin-hoo.'
***
The war of words between Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye and Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee became a major issue.
Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi, who had been almost non-existent until now, became known to everyone because of this incident, and political donations poured in from all directions.
The video of the war of words in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee was also uploaded to ATube, a video site operated by Gooble. Bored netizens added English, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese subtitles below.
Surprisingly, the video recorded 5 million views in just two days.
– Wow! Does something this interesting happen in the Korean National Assembly every time?
– Who is that woman, and why is she shouting for him to resign?
– I heard she was a presidential candidate in Korea. It seems that in the Korean National Assembly, if this woman doesn't like you, you have to resign.
– I saw her shouting for Kang Jin-hoo to resign before too.
– Ah! That's right. That video was fun 🙂
– It reminds me of Ronald saying 'You're fired!' on a show before.
The Korean National Assembly has now become a global laughingstock, going beyond Korea.
In particular, the scene where Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye's face turned completely red and she pointed her finger, shouting "Resign!", became very popular among foreigners.
No one knows who started it first, but if someone said something they didn't like, it became a kind of internet meme, trending like wildfire, to retaliate by posting a photo capturing the scene of Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye shouting to resign (with the caption 'You're fireeeed!').
Thanks to that, Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye rose to global stardom, completely unrelated to her own intentions.
However, this video caused serious controversy that could not simply be laughed off.
– But is pornography illegal in Korea? My Korean friends all seem to watch it.
– That's strange. Isn't Korea a country with freedom of expression? Girl groups all emphasize sex appeal.
– I like Korean movies and watch them often, and they are very violent. Stabbing to death with a knife, sawing bodies with a saw. Blood spurts everywhere.
– Showing people being killed is okay, but showing people having sex is not okay?
– That's right. You can punch faces, break bones, cut off heads, and disembowel, but showing genitals is prohibited.
– Huh? What are you talking about? Is this a joke?
– No. It's real. If such scenes appear in foreign movies, they are censored with mosaics or deleted when imported.
– I don't understand. Then what are all those pornographic videos uploaded on Korean web hard drives?
– What else? They are all illegal files.
– Then are they not paying the companies that produced the pornography? Stealing copyrighted works is clearly theft.
– I don't understand. Korea is a cultural powerhouse that exports K-pop, dramas, movies, etc. all over the world. But why are they ignoring other countries' intellectual property rights?
– If this is the case, isn't Korea no different from China?
Even in countries where pornography is legalized, illegal files are not non-existent. However, there is a completely different issue between some illegal files circulating in a market where legal access is possible, and the entire market being made up of illegal files.
All copyrighted works have copyright, and this is the same for pornography. However, in Korea, pornography is illegal from the beginning. Since the copyright of illegally defined content cannot be recognized, the Korean court did not recognize the copyright of pornography.
Foreign pornography companies had long been aware of the fact that Korea was illegally consuming all pornography content.
However, they were just tolerating it while knowing. But as this issue became a global public debate, it was difficult to remain silent.
First, American pornography production companies gathered and formally protested to the Korean government. Next, EU and Japanese pornography companies also stepped forward. Some announced their intention to proceed with lawsuits by contracting with international law firms.
Faceit applied for copyright registration in Korea for its own content, and the Korean government fell into a difficult situation.
If they accept the copyright registration, it means recognizing the rights of illegal content, and if they do not, it means continuing to ignore American intellectual property rights.
The US is already sensitive about intellectual property rights issues due to the ongoing trade dispute with China.
The New York Times published an editorial by famous cultural critic Ferdinand Cave.
[What is the size of the Korean pornography industry?]
The answer is zero. Isn't it surprising? How on earth can this happen?
The reason is that pornography is illegal in Korea. Therefore, you cannot produce it or sell it for money. Then do Koreans not watch pornography at all?
(omitted)
Korea claims that China indiscriminately copies Korean goods and content and infringes on intellectual property rights. In fact, companies are currently in several lawsuits related to this. However, Korea is consuming foreign pornography illegally without recognizing its copyright.
While copyright holders are not earning a single dollar, web hard drive companies and heavy uploaders have made huge profits. The funny thing is that if you are caught distributing pornography on the internet, you are punished for distributing obscene material, but not for copyright infringement.
Korea exports not only K-pop, but also dramas, movies, and broadcasting. Hallyu is spreading around the world and has become an important industry in Korea. In the case of famous idol groups, the revenue earned from abroad is much larger than in Korea. However, when it comes to pornography, they are completely ignoring the copyrights of other countries.
Finally, let me introduce a Korean proverb.
'If I do it, it's romance; if others do it, it's an affair.'
***
What is the biggest reason why there has been no discussion about legalizing pornography in Korea so far?
That is because even if it is illegal, there has been no problem watching it. However, there are two major problems with this.
One is that it is clearly illegal, and the other is that no matter how much foreign pornography there is, there is always a demand for domestic pornography.
There are no pornography production companies in Korea, but videos distributed under the names 'Korean Porn' or 'Korean Yadon' blatantly exist.
Many are illegal filming, and even if the filming was done with consent, distribution is mostly done without the consent of the person involved. Among these, there was also revenge porn, which was intentionally distributed out of spite towards a former lover.
These illegal videos were indiscriminately distributed through web hard drives, etc. Strong regulation of pornography has rather fostered illegality.
In particular, there was nothing to say even with ten mouths regarding intellectual property rights infringement.
Now, the Korean pornography issue was showing signs of escalating into a trade friction with the US, EU, and Japan. And Chinese production companies, who are suing Korean entertainment programs for outright copying, took a stance of 'You are also ignoring other countries' intellectual property rights, why are you yelling at us?'
As the situation became uncontrollable, President Heo Chang-min said at a cabinet meeting,
"I think it is necessary for Korea to revise regulations related to adult content in accordance with international standards now. To this end, it is urgent to create a discussion body where the ruling and opposition parties cooperate."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance agreed with the President's words, but Minister Shin Jeon-mi of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family opposed it to the end.
"Premature deregulation may increase digital sex crimes, worsen women's rights, and promote the commodification of sex."
However, in a public opinion poll conducted by a research company, more than 70 percent of respondents said that the current pornography regulations should be revised.
The approval rate was higher in the 20s and 30s than in the 40s and 50s, and more than half of women also agreed.
82 percent expressed negative opinions about the bill proposed by Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye to strengthen the crackdown and punishment of pornography.
As public opinion worsened, some of the lawmakers (nicknamed Sip-Seonbi) who had put their names as co-sponsors quietly removed their names.
Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye was furious, but she could not continue to push for the bill's agenda in a situation where the US was raising the issue of intellectual property rights.
In the end, a discussion body was created in the National Assembly, centered on Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi, to discuss deregulation of pornography. Not only ruling and opposition lawmakers, but also experts from all walks of life and civic groups were scheduled to participate.
– Assemblyman Nam Seong-gwi did it!
– No, Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye did it!
– Could it be that all of this was a big picture to bring about the legalization of pornography?
– Otherwise, it's inexplicable why she proposed such a stupid bill.
– We didn't recognize the Dark Knight!
– Sorry for badmouthing you all this time ㅜㅜ
– Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye is truly a pioneer of Korean pornography and the hope of the Liberty National Party!
– Assemblywoman Gensei! Don't resign!
***
I had a video call with Faceit CEO Tobey with Taek-gyu.
"If the law is revised, we plan to officially launch service in Korea. We plan to add Korean subtitles to existing videos and produce Korean content by contracting with local companies."
Korean law adopts the principle of nationality.
Let's assume that Korean A goes to the United States, officially contracts with a production company, and films pornography. This is no problem under US law. However, Korean law applies to Korean A, and he is punished for manufacturing obscenity (producing pornography).
Until now, Korean pornography production was impossible, but this will change if the law changes. Erotic film production companies expressed great anticipation for the law revision.
Tobey smiled and said.
"This is all because of that petition. I heard that there were over 2 million signatures, did the person who posted that petition know that things would turn out like this?"
At those words, Taek-gyu nodded.
"Of course. I had a feeling from the moment I posted it."
"Haha, is that so."
"Huh?"
A moment of silence fell.
I turned my head to the side and asked.
"What did you just say?"
Then Taek-gyu subtly avoided my gaze.
I was dumbfounded and shouted.
"Oh Taek-gyu, get down!"