South Korea has lifted its ban on the import of sexy inflatable sex dolls for adults, after years of debates over government interference in people’s private lives. The BBC reports it. The revised guidelines allow dolls to pass through customs when they have adult features but remain prohibited if they represent children. Sex dolls are not illegal in South Korea, however thousands of them have been seized at customs since 2018.
Officials have blocked the full-size import under a law that restricts goods that are seen as harmful to public traditions and morals. The importers have taken their complaints to court asking for the ban to be lifted and the products to be released on the grounds that they do not harm human dignity. In 2019, the Supreme Court upheld a decision that sex dolls are used for personal use and fall into the same category as pornography, which is strictly regulated, but legal.
A petition has been signed by hundreds of thousands of people claiming that sexy dolls could lead to an increase in sex crimes. Customs officials said they would ban the sale of sex dolls that resemble real people, such as celebrities. It’s unclear whether the sales ban also applies to domestically produced sex dolls that look like minors, but such restrictions exist in Australia, the UK and the US.