Court rules men’s sex toys not obscene material

Men’s sex toys are not obscene material, a court said Wednesday, countering a previous top court ruling.

The Cheongju District Court acquitted an adult products shop owner, 52, accused of displaying vagina-shaped masturbation devices in an appeals case.

She was indicted for displaying 13 men’s sex toys in her shop. The lower court had fined her 700,000 won in December.

“Modeling female genitals for men’s sexual arousal or satisfaction does not constitute obscene material,” the appellate court said.

“One’s right to use such devices should be guaranteed in terms of the right to pursue happiness. Regulating one’s sexual privacy does not fit the current social norm about sex,” it added.

The ruling contradicts the Supreme Court’s previous decision that such devices are obscene material.

In 2003, the top court sent a similar case to a high court. In their ruling, judges found selling men’s masturbation devices was illegal.

The decision stirred controversy over sexual discrimination because the top court in 2000 ruled the opposite for women’s sex toys.

It said that, “It is hard to believe dildos sexually humiliate people just because they remind them of penises.” Since then, the women’s sex toy has not been considered obscene.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are reportedly considering an appeal. By Nam Hyun-woo The korea times