Korean dairy brand Seoul Milk apologises for likening women to cows in ad

Leading South Korean dairy brand Seoul Milk has apologised for an ad that likened women to cows and showed a man secretly filming them. According to media reports including South Korean English-language daily The Korea Times and CNN, the ad sparked backlash with some consumers comparing it to the molka (spycam) crimes that have been rampant in the country. In the now-deleted ad, a man is seen hiking with a camera and along with the voiceover which said: "We have finally succeeded in capturing their images in a place where nature has been kept clean."

The man then stops suddenly when he chances upon a group of women drinking water from a stream and proceeds to film them. This is accompanied by a voiceover which said: "We decided to approach them cautiously, who are drinking clean water from clean nature, eating an organic diet, and living peacefully in a pleasant environment."

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The ad then cuts to a scene of the women carrying out yoga poses while the man continues to film from a distance. He accidentally steps on a twig, causing one of the women to look at him. When the man looks up from his camera, the women suddenly turn into cows.

In a statement on its website, Seoul Milk's parent company, Seoul Dairy Cooperative, sincerely apologised to everyone who felt uncomfortable about its milk ad uploaded onto its official YouTube channel 29 November. "We are taking this matter seriously and will take extra care to prevent similar incidences in the future," the company said.

"Once again, we bow our heads and apologise to all consumers who felt uncomfortable with the ad," it added. While the video has been deleted from Seoul Milk's YouTube channel, the clip is still circulating online. Molka crimes have been an issue in South Korea. In 2019, for example, four individuals were arrested for secretly filming approximately 1,600 guests in their hotel rooms and posting or streaming them on the Internet, BBC News reported.

Quoting the Korean National Police Agency, BBC News said the mini spy cameras were installed in objects such as TV set-top boxes and hairdryer cradles and even electrical outlets in hotels in southeastern and central South Korea. Meanwhile, in 2018, The Korea Herald reported that more than 16,000 Koreans were arrested for spycam-related crimes over the last four years, and the majority of the suspects (97%) were male. The government also cracked down on spycam porn in public toilets in all transportation hubs in the country, The Korea Herald said.