Officials in South Korea have relaxed a prohibition on the importation of adult-sized sex dolls.
The ruling follows years of dispute over whether the government interfered in the private lives of citizens.
The amended restrictions enable dolls fashioned like adults to pass through customs, but dolls resembling children are still barred, according to the Korea Customs Service.
Sexual dolls are not prohibited in South Korea. Since 2018, however, many of them have been seized at customs.
Officials halted the importation of life-size sex dolls by a regulation that limits the importation of items deemed harmful to South Korea’s traditions and public morals.
Importers initially filed complaints with the court, requesting that the restriction be lifted and the dolls are released from customs. According to them, the products did not violate human dignity.
In 2019, the Supreme Court upheld a finding that sex dolls are used for personal purposes and belong under the same category as pornography, which is allowed but strictly restricted.
However, about a quarter million individuals signed a petition to prohibit the importation of these dolls into South Korea. The petition’s anonymous author claimed that the dolls could lead to a rise in sexual offenses.
The customs officers’ decision to revoke the prohibition settled the situation. In a statement, they explained that the decision was made after analyzing recent court judgments and recommendations from relevant government institutions, such as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
Additionally, importers are permitted to collect their merchandise from government custody. Customs officers estimated that they are still holding more than one thousand sex dolls that landed in South Korea within the past four years.
However, customs officials have stated that they will prohibit the selling of sex dolls that resemble actual persons, such as celebrities.
It is unknown if the ban also extends to locally produced sex dolls that resemble children, although similar restrictions apply in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
