Police on Friday launched an investigation into a YouTube celebrity's allegations that she was sexually molested and forcibly photographed by a group of men when she worked as a model in 2015.
The woman, Yang Ye-won, made the revelation this week after some obscene photos of her were recently leaked on the Internet. Her friend Lee So-yoon later made similar allegations.
The Seoul Mapo Police Station said it will question Yang and Lee in an undisclosed place outside the precinct on the women's request for security.
| YouTuber Yang Ye-won says she was sexually harassed by a group of men while working as a model, through a Facebook post on Thursday. (Yonhap)In her postings on Facebook and YouTube, Yang called for a probe into a man whom she claimed lured her into the photo shoot and some others who were present.
Yang claimed she was forced into being photographed wearing flashy lingerie and in lewd poses. During the shoot, the men groped her, she claimed.
In her YouTube video, Yang said she was shocked to find out later that many of the men were "ordinary people" and that she heard one of them talk to his child on the phone while committing the lewd acts.
Police said they have shut down the six Internet sites that carried the photos. They plan to determine whether the suspicions raised are enough to constitute sex crimes or if the alleged acts violate laws related to IT and information protection.
Police plan to question the women in detail about the allegations, including whether there had been any threat or coercion in the course of the alleged harassment.
The key suspect denies any wrongdoing, saying the photography took place with her consent and there was neither sexual harassment nor threats made. (Yonhap)