[EDITORIAL]Symptom of moral decay

In principle, sexual behavior belongs to the domain of privacy. But it does not mean that individuals can be morally condoned for whatever sexual acts they may engage in privately. Adultery is still a sin though it may no longer need to be classified as a crime, as it is in Korea.

With this having been said, it is shocking to find so many people engage in wife swapping and that some of them have the audacity to run their own Internet site and go so far as to show indecent sexual acts to its members, if not to the general public.

It is impossible to punish married couples for having consensual sex with other married couples, or swinging. The rationale is that there is no room for legal interference in private, victimless, sexual acts involving no prostitution. But police have recently arrested a man suspected of running the swapping site, as it goes against the law to post sexually indecent material on the Internet.

It is not the first time action has been taken against an Internet swapping site. Back in 2003, a site was found to have 70 couples engaged in swapping as its members.

There is no knowing how prevalent swapping is in the nation. But it definitely is not an isolated social phenomenon, given that the recently found site alone had as many as 5,000 members.

Swapping is only one symptom of moral degeneration in a society worshipping carnal pleasure. Promiscuity ranges from prostitution to sex with juveniles and child molestation.

It goes without saying that it is necessary to crack down on sexual crimes. Still, law enforcement can play only a limited role in fighting sexual debauchery. After all, it is education and religion that will have to help individuals cultivate self-discipline and self-restraint in their sexual behavior.