Court ruling allowing life-size sex dolls amasses widespread backlash in South Korea

South Koreans president Moon Jae-in required to respond to widespread backlash over sex dolls

Many of South Korea's life-size sex dolls come from Japan, where a man is seen going surfing with his £5,000 doll (AFP/Getty Images)

A petition demanding a ban on life-size sex doll imports to South Korea on the grounds they "corrupt public morals" has amassed a quarter of a million signatures.

Many had been placated by government agencies placing import restrictions on the dolls, which are legal in South Korea, under legislation that outlaws materials which "corrupt public morals".

But thousands decided to take action after the country's highest court ruled that giant sex dolls are a personal matter.

The Seoul High Court decision in January said dolls should not be grouped with pornography, which is restricted under law.

It was upheld by the supreme court in June, overruling the custom arrangements already in place.

Now a backlash of South Koreans are awaiting the stance of president Moon Jae-in, who is required to respond after a petition set up anonymously garnered 237,000 signatures.

The petition, addressed to the presidential Blue House, claims an influx of sex dolls will go hand in hand with an increase in sex crimes.

A spokesman for Incheon Main Customs said they had allowed imports from Japan, but are still reviewing whether to release imported dolls from China.

The boss of the distributing company which challenged the earlier customs agency ruling said it could not provide total figures for the number of sex dolls imported into South Korea.

But Lee Sang-jin said there had been "a lot of individuals" travelling overseas to bring back dolls since the court ruling.

Life-size dolls can cost from 1 million won ($840) to 20 million won ($16,750), depending on options and materials such as silicon skin, eye colour and body heating systems to make them feel more like a human being.

The author of the petition argued that the customisable features of some dolls could be used to create copies of real people, a concern that Lee dismissed as unfounded.

Agencies contributed to this report.