Although there are no laws or regulations banning the import of sex dolls, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, have been seized by the customs, which cited a clause in the law that bans the import of goods that “harm the country’s beautiful traditions and public moral.”
Importers complained and took their case to courts, most of which agreed with them and ordered customs to release the sex dolls, saying they are used in people’s private spaces and don’t undermine human dignity.
The customs service said it will still ban the import of child-like sex dolls or others embodying certain people. It said other countries like the United States, Australia and the U.K. also ban child-like sex dolls.
FREEDUM
“We thought our people’s rights to seek happiness and use (sex dolls) in their private lives have been restricted by the state,” said Lee Sang-jin, who headed one of the company’s online shopping malls. “There are various types of people who use (sex dolls), including those who are sexually alienated or those who need them for artistic purposes.”
South Korean authorities don’t crack down on the sale of domestically made sex dolls, but their quality is in general inferior to those made abroad, Lee said.
While the decision reflects South Korea’s slow yet gradual moves to restrict state interference into personal lives, some women’s rights and conservative organizations will likely again voice their opposition to the use of sex dolls. They say they deepen sexual objectification of women and undermine public moral.
