Cheating website reopens in S. Korea as court rescinds anti-adultery law

A Canada-based website facilitating extra-marital affairs among its clientele is back in business in South Korea, authorities said Tuesday, in what seems to be a quick move after the country's top court abolished a decades-old anti-adultery law late last month. 

Ashley Madison, an online dating site which hooks up married individuals as well as singles, has resumed service for local customers under a new domain, www.ashleymadison.co.kr, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the local watchdog for online materials said.

The controversial website, operating in more than 20 countries worldwide, first began its service here last year, luring customers with aggressive marketing until the KCSC banned the site in April, citing the demoralizing nature of the business.

The KCSC, however, lifted the ban on Ashley Madison on Tuesday, following the decision by the Constitutional Court to repeal the anti-adultery law on Feb. 26.

In the historical ruling, which came 62 years after the law was enacted, the court judged that an article of the criminal code was unconstitutional as it violates individuals' freedom to choose their sexual partners and their right to privacy.

The KCSC said it allowed the site to reopen as the legal grounds for the ban no longer exist, but added it will "keep close tabs on the site for any potential abuse that might lead to sexual-related crimes."

Launched in 2001, Ashley Madison has been a huge success in the United States, Taiwan and Brazil. It has recently gained popularity in Hong Kong and Japan. Avid Dating Life Inc., the website operator, also runs a similar online dating site called CougarLife, which mainly offers middle-aged women dating chances with younger men. (Yonhap)