South Korea spycam crimes put hidden camera industry under scrutiny

Spycams can be hidden inside a wide range of household items, including paintings, pens, smoke detectors and lighters. [AFP]

Shin Jang-jin's shop in Incheon offers seemingly innocuous household items, from pens and lighters to watches and smoke detectors, but with a secret feature -- a hidden one millimetre-wide-lens that can shoot video.

Over the past decade, Shin has sold thousands of gadgets. But his industry is coming under pressure as ultra-wired South Korea battles a growing epidemic of so-called "molka", or spycam videos -- mostly of women, secretly filmed by men in public places.