"Ex-Girlfriend Captured on Home Cam"—Korean Videos Spread Indiscriminately on Foreign Porn Sites

According to The Financial News, videos of Koreans filmed in hospital changing rooms, Pilates studios, and private homes are being indiscriminately leaked on anonymous adult websites that operate in multiple languages worldwide. Highly private footage is being distributed globally without any form of verification, resulting in severe personal harm.
On the SBS program 'Unanswered Questions' aired on the 29th of last month, various cases of IP camera hacking and leaks were reported. Person A, who runs a beauty shop in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, received a reservation inquiry from a man in August. The man contacted Person A through a private messenger not listed on the reservation page and requested a bank account number, claiming he would pay a deposit.
The man then abruptly changed his tone, asking 'Is this really you?' and sent Person A ten nude photos. The photos were taken at a skincare clinic Person A had visited only once, two years ago. The man also sent photos that Person A had posted and later deleted from a Social Networking Service (SNS) years ago, threatening her. He then deposited money into Person A's account and reported it as a suspicious account, causing her bank transactions to be frozen.
Person A informed the skincare clinic director about the incident. The director insisted, 'We removed the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) during renovations earlier this year, and none of our customers have reported being victimized.'
The director, speaking to the production team, explained, 'We have many expensive products in the store and sometimes deal with intoxicated customers, so we use a security company’s services. The CCTV footage is accessible for a limited time via a mobile app as an IP camera product.' The director added, 'I didn’t know it had a recording function and thought footage would be deleted automatically after a certain period.' She emphasized that the security company set up the CCTV account ID and password, stating, 'The security company seems more suspicious. I have no reason to leak customer videos.'
The security company, on the other hand, claimed they had no access to the footage and that a leak due to hacking was impossible.

Person A was not the only victim. Mr. B, a model, was filmed changing clothes during a studio shoot, and the footage was leaked to a pornographic website.
Mr. B’s boyfriend recalled, 'My friends knew Mr. B was a model, so they asked, "Your girlfriend’s video was uploaded—did you see it?" I was shocked and checked the site.' Mr. B said her name was specifically mentioned on the site and lamented, 'Within a day, the video had nearly 100,000 views.'
Mr. C, who lives abroad and welcomed his first child last month, received a call from Korea the day after his wife gave birth. He said, 'While waiting for my wife to come out of the recovery room, a friend told me about a site with my video. When I checked, I found footage from a home cam recorded in 2023.'
The leaked video was taken from an IP camera Mr. C had used for five years in his apartment in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do. The footage included intimate scenes with his ex-girlfriend from two years ago. The audio feature was enabled, so their voices were clearly exposed.
Mr. C confessed, 'Since it was my home, I can't say I am entirely blameless. But my ex-girlfriend is a woman, and if she finds out, her life could come to a halt. That’s why I haven’t told her.'
He added that learning about the leak through an acquaintance made it even more distressing. 'Anyone who visited my home would recognize it. I feel like I’m developing a mental illness. If I were in Korea, I don’t know if I could even go outside. The moment someone says, "That looks like him," my life would collapse.'

Mr. C’s video quickly spread to a total of five different websites beyond the first site he checked.
The home cam company responded to Mr. C’s complaint by saying, 'It’s not that we don’t manage the server; we don’t have a server, so hacking is impossible. You don’t know when or where the leak happened. Maybe someone briefly accessed your phone.' They suggested user error rather than a camera defect.
Mr. C said, 'I bought a domestic brand product because I wanted something reliable. I’m just an ordinary person—I have no idea how leaks or hacking happen. When I last spoke with the company, a representative told me, "It will blow over soon anyway." I can’t believe this is happening in a country governed by law.'
Meanwhile, during their investigation, the production team identified a site containing the name 'CAT,' which appeared to be the original source of the leaked videos. Most of the videos featured a cat logo.
On the so-called 'Goyangi site,' not only CCTV footage but also photos and videos taken by IP cameras were being uploaded in large quantities. When the site’s language was switched to Korean among its 13 language options, an endless stream of leaked Korean videos appeared. The site allowed anyone to play videos without registering or logging in.
The site even had a menu labeled 'IP camera,' where private scenes from karaoke rooms, hospital changing rooms, Pilates studios, video rooms, room cafes, and even home cams and pet cams were being leaked in bulk. Furthermore, it took only a day for videos from the 'Goyangi site' to spread to other sites.
When questioned about hacking issues, IP camera vendors claimed there were no significant legal problems and refused to take responsibility.
hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter