Should Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra Cellphones Be Banned? Korean Man Sparks Fierce Online Debate Over Its Zoom Feature

With baseball season in full swing, Korea’s Samsung Lions Park in Daegu has been hosting multiple games a week—selling out to excited sports fans from all over the nation.

During a recent game, though, a disturbed fan @swimming_crab77 on Instagram called out a fellow game watcher.

Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, Korea. | @shutterdodem2/Tistory

In a reel that has gone viral all over the internet, @swimming_crab77 captured a man seated in front of them using a “GALAXY S23 Ultra” cellphone to take “molka” videos.

The man can be seen using the S23 Ultra’s “Space Zoom” feature to zoom in on a female fan on the other side of the ballpark.

Your browser does not support video.“Molka,” (or molca) is a shortened form of “mollae camera” to mean “hidden/spy camera,” referring to all forms of illegal, non-consensual pictures and/or videos being taken of a target. | @swimming_crab77/Instagram

Look at this piece of sh*t taking molka pictures at a ballpark. The zoom feature on our cellphones has made our lives easier. But there are people who use the feature for stuff like this. Please be careful; You don’t know who’s watching where.

— @swimming_crab77/Instagram

@swimming_crab77 also clarified in the comments that this man “was uploading the pictures to some website,” hinting that this is a prime example of a spy camera crime.

| @swimming_crab77/Instagram

Comment: He didn’t snap pictures, though.

Response: He did. And he was uploading the pictures to some website. He was quick with his hands, so at first, it was hard to understand what he was doing.

| @swimming_crab77/Instagram

Comment: But it looks like the woman has a man with her.

Response: I was watching him. He was filming multiple women. I didn’t realize what was happening at first. But later, I realized he was targeting women.

Since their release, Samsung’s “Ultra” model had been dubbed “the perfect phone for K-Pop concerts” for its incredible 100x Space Zoom feature.

Following the clip’s circulation online, Koreans voiced concern for the feature’s potential to be used in criminal activities against women—as molka crimes remain rampant in Korea.

| theqoo

• “Barf.”
• “This is making me puke.”
• “Go to the ballpark. Watch baseball.”
• “WTF? Is he not aware that there are other people behind him? Is he not ashamed? Barf.“
• “Ew… I’ve never even thought about this… He needs to be behind bars. F*ck.”
• “I knew this would happen. I’m not even surprised.”
• “You all need to be careful of windows, too. [Ultra zoom] can peep into apartments across complexes, no problem.”
• “I think cellphone camera speculations should be regulated. Such features should be limited to medical and/or engineering uses.”
• “This reminds me of all the people who thought women were being paranoid about falling victim to molka crimes.”
• “I didn’t love the idea of the space zoom on the Ultra model because of this exact reason when it was first announced. We’re in Korea, after all… The land of molka.”
• “I agree that regulations need to be put in place—It’s clear that people don’t share the same level of common sense when it comes to consensual filming.”
• “I was worried about this feature when S23 Ultra first came out.”

One netizen pointed out, “There should be some sort of regulations for zoom specification on smaller devices [like phones],” as it isn’t the most essential feature but can become a dangerous one.

울트라 빠순이만 쓰게 하라고 ㅅㅂ pic.twitter.com/6Sk1NfwBqK

— (@dive_into_nct) May 20, 2023

While the original reel has been since deleted from @swimming_crab77’s Instagram account, the video continues to disgust Koreans on Twitter.

Read more about how sensitive Korea has grown to the idea of illegal filming, after decades of battling the same issue with little change.

Cosmopolitan Korea Under Fire For Glamorizing Spy Camera Crimes In Editorial