Jecheon AIDS scandal

Jecheon AIDS Scandal (Korean: 제천 에이즈 스캔들, Hanja: 堤川 AIDS 醜聞) and Jecheon AIDS Crime (Korean: 제천 에이즈 사건, Hanja: 堤川 AIDS 事件, Revised Romanization of Korean: Jecheon AIDS Sageon) was a sex scandal in South Korea that lasted from 2003 to April 2009.[1] It is also known as the Jecheon Crisis.

Jecheon AIDS scandal
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese堤川艾滋病性醜聞, 堤川艾滋病事件
Simplified Chinese堤川艾滋病性醜聞, 堤川艾滋病事件
Korean name
Hangul
제천 에이즈 스캔들 or 제천 에이즈 사건
Hanja
堤川 AIDS 性醜聞, 堤川 AIDS 事件

Since 2003, hundreds of sexually active men and women around Jecheon, Chungcheong province, have become infected with HIV. The suspect was found to be a 27-year-old taxi driver, arrested on March 11, 2009, on suspicions of stealing women's underwear.[2] Police raided his apartment and found a stash of 400 pairs of women's underwear and several amateur pornographic movies filmed on a mobile phone.

An odd rumor started going around while women's underwear were disappearing from homes and adult entertainment establishments in Jeocheon-si. Jeonmo was revealed as the culprit when he broke into one home and stole some women's underwear, and police held him on suspicion of stealing 100 or so pairs of women's underwear, and the truth started coming out. He was merely a burglar, but Mr. Jeon had stolen women's underwear, so there was an issue. Mr. Jeon was having a hard time in life having contracted AIDS from a woman, however, the investigation revealed that revenge was not a motive.

Victims have been sought, but there was difficulty in verifying the victims, since they did not cooperate with the investigation.

The suspect was later revealed to be HIV positive, having been turned away from military service in 2003.

Cause

Jeonmo (26 years old at the time) was confirmed as having AIDS immediately after being enlisted to the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. However, it is unclear who infected him, as he had sexual relations with a thirty year old homosexual male, a housewife, and a female prostitute in or about 2002.

He was unaware for more than a year, and did not know he had contracted AIDS until it was revealed in a physical examination after being conscripted. Mr. Jeon enlisted in June 2003, but was sent home after it was verified that he had contracted AIDS.

The victim refused to answer as to why he didn't use a condom. Jeonmo contracted a sexual disease from either girls he had dated during military service, or from a girl at an adult entertainment establishment, and after being discharged, he had pain and pus on his genital, so it is hypothesized that this stirred up a retaliatory spirit towards the girls that had infected him with AIDS. However, subsequently, during the police investigation Jeonmo also testified that he did not have a retaliatory spirit towards the girls who had infected him with AIDS.

Jeonmo testified, "I did not use a condom." Specifically, police view the fact that Jeonmo sought employment as a taxi driver was for the purpose of irrational revenge against numerous women. At the onset of the incident, sexual assault and violence was assumed, however, it was revealed that sexual relations were consensual with the majority of the women.

Post-Arrest

There was a stir following the senseless sexual contact of someone who had contracted AIDS in the Jecheon, Chungbuk area on March 13, 2009, and an AIDS scare in neighboring areas as well. In the morning of March 13, the Chungbuk Jecheon Police Agency secured the phone numbers of approximately 70 women from the mobile phone of Jeonmo, who was infected with AIDS, and verified their identities, following an examination of the mobile phone and emails of Jeonmo. Since Jeonmo was AIDS positive, the police maintained high security, and proceeded with the investigation. According to the police, on the same day the suspect was arrested, the initial news brief that was planned for broadcast was that of a simple burglary. However, by afternoon the next day, information of the case was leaked, and the first report went out of "someone infected with AIDS" at midnight that day, and the incident quickly escalated. There were even predictions that he purposely had sexual relations without using contraception, on a spate of revenge.

During the police investigation he testified "he did not use a condom," and this shocked the general public, in addition to those he had sexual relations with. However, he did tell the truth to some of the women and men, before and after having sex, and told them to go to a clinic.

Police proceeded to investigate Mr. Jeon on March 13, and called Ms. A (29 years old), who was verified as having had sexual relations with Mr. Jeon in mid-October of last year. Mr. Jeon typically had sexual relations with female workers at adult entertainment establishments, who finished work late at night. The women, who were Mr. Jeon's taxi passengers, were typically drunk, and it is hypothesized that they were easily tempted by his distinguished appearance. The pornographic movies he had filmed at his one-room apartment showed female adult entertainment establishment workers, but also featured housewives, women in their 30s to 40s. He had sexual relations by luring female passengers, such as those as alcohol servers from adult entertainment establishments, drunk females, and housewives in their 30s and 40s. Police revealed that there were more than 10 females who were filmed having sexual relations.

Jeonmo was verified as a bisexual, since there were also relationships with men, and the scare was expanded from female prostitutes, to men. The fact that he even had sexual relations with housewives in their 30s to 40s expanded the scandal. Upon until that time, Mr. Jeon had become infected, but did not show any symptoms of AIDS. The probability of becoming infected from sexual acts is only 1-4/1000, however, in the case that the women who had sexual relations with Mr. Jeon had sexual contact with other men, the risk of infection would increase exponentially, and an AIDS scare descended upon Jecheon.

The AIDS scare spread to various places in Korea, and following a press inquiry, a police spokesperson said, "We have made a request to the telecom company to verify the identity of approximately 260 phone numbers that were stored on Mr. Jeon's mobile phone, and called the numbers one by one to verify identities," adding, "as a result, we secured the phone numbers of approximately 70 individuals."

See also

References
  1. "제천, 에이즈 20대남 6년간 수십명과 성관계 [영국대표 한인신문]". www.koweekly.co.uk.
  2. "에이즈공포 제천, 검진신청 20배 늘어". 16 March 2009.
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