A state-owned property developer in Korea is introducing QR code-based entry systems at public women’s bathrooms in a bid to ward off spy camera crimes.

Korea Land and Housing Corp. said in a press release Sunday that smartphone-generated QR codes containing personal data will be scanned at entry points with the aim of protecting against sex crimes occurring inside bathrooms.

The pilot project is slated to kick off later this year at six public women’s bathrooms in two cities of Yangju, Gyeonggi, and Sejong before they are more widely implemented across the country.

There will be separate regular bathrooms for those unable or unwilling to use facilities with the electronic system.

The adoption of QR code identification in public bathrooms has elicited mixed responses. “I don’t feel comfortable giving away my information before I can use the bathroom,” said a Seoul woman in her 20s. “But I guess it’s better than not having the option at all.”

Public women’s bathrooms in Korea are notorious hotbeds for spycam crimes. Footage taken with hidden cameras inside the bathrooms often end up online. According to the National Police Agency data, an average of 16.2 cases of surreptitious filming took place per day in 2018. About 97 percent of the perpetrators were men.

“I get that these efforts are intended to stop men from invading female spaces. But what this system achieves is causing women extra inconvenience in order to be safe -- if it can indeed ensure safety,” said feminist philosopher Yun-Kim Ji-young of Seoul’s Konkuk University.

“Such approach reinforces the message that women are the ones who need to be careful in order to prevent violence.”

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)