A lawmaker Lee Yong-ju, who brought a sex doll, speaks during a parliamentary inspection at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 18, 2019. South Korea has formally ended a ban on the import of full-body sex dolls, ending years of debate over how much the government can interfere in private life. Although there are no laws or regulations banning the import of sex dolls, hundreds and perhaps thousands have been seized by the customs, which cited a clause in the law that bans the import of goods that “harm the country’s beautiful traditions and public moral."

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has formally lifted a ban on the import of full-body sex dolls, ending years of debate over how much the government can interfere in private life.

Although there are no laws or regulations banning the import of sex dolls, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, have been seized by the customs, which cited a clause in the law that bans the import of goods that “harm the country’s beautiful traditions and public moral.”

Importers complained and took their case to courts, most of which agreed with them and ordered customs to release the sex dolls, saying they are used in people’s private spaces and don’t undermine human dignity.

On Monday, Dec. 26, the Korea Customs Service said in a statement that it began enforcing a revised guideline for import of life-size adult sex dolls. It said it reviewed recent court rulings and opinions from relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The customs service said it will still ban the import of child-like sex dolls or others embodying certain people. It said other countries like the United States, Australia and the U.K. also ban child-like sex dolls.

While the decision reflects South Korea’s slow yet gradual moves to restrict state interference into personal lives, some women’s rights and conservative organizations will likely again voice their opposition to the use of sex dolls. They say they deepen sexual objectification of women and undermine public moral.

Carenshare Co., a South Korean company that imports sex dolls, said in a statement that it was “deplorable” for the customs service to lift the import ban after allegedly wasting taxpayers’ money for lawsuits with importers. The company said it has suffered immense losses. It said South Korea must reform other regulations that have a negative impact on the economy.

“We thought our people’s rights to seek happiness and use (sex dolls) in their private lives have been restricted by the state,” said Lee Sang-jin, who headed one of the company’s online shopping malls. “There are various types of people who use (sex dolls), including those who are sexually alienated or those who need them for artistic purposes.”

Lee said the decision by the customs was “reasonable” but “bit late.”

South Korean authorities don’t crack down on the sale of domestically made sex dolls, but their quality is in general inferior to those made abroad, Lee said.

Lee said his former company has already taken back more than 20 sex dolls from customs officials through lawsuits. He said the company has filed separate lawsuits seeking government compensation as many of the retrieved sex dolls became unusable following about two years of seizures by the customs service.

The customs service’s decision would allow importers to get back their sex dolls held in government storages run by the agency.

Customs officials said they still likely hold more than 1,000 sex dolls that had been sent to South Korea since 2018.

Staff gives South Dakota governor a flamethrower for ChristmasPIERRE, S.D. — Gov. Kristi Noem got a hot Christmas gift from her staff — literally.

Noem’s staff gave her a Pulsefire LRT flamethrower with an engraved plate of the state motto “Under God, the people rule,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported Tuesday, Dec. 27.

A video posted to Twitter on Sunday shows Noem, decked out in camouflage, using the flamethrower to torching a pile of cardboard boxes on a snowy farm. She shoots a final spray of flames into the boxes, raises her arm with a flourish and says “Boom, perfect.”

According to Tennessee-based ammunitions company MidSouth Shooters, a Pulsefire LRT costs about $650. Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said no tax dollars went toward the purchase.

The gift comes after a photo on Twitter showing Noem holding a flamethrower with the caption, “Is it too late to add something to my Christmas list?” went viral in 2020.

Some critics on social media have complained that while Noem was burning the boxes, media reports surfaced that thousands of American Indians on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations were trapped without heat during a fierce winter storm. Pine Ridge citizens had to burn clothes after propane deliveries stopped and there was no firewood.

At least one person, a 12-year-old Rosebud Sioux girl, died, because she was unable to receive medical treatment.

Fury noted that the state Department of Public Safety cleared roads on both reservations, coordinated transport for dozens of dialysis patients to Rapid City, helped stranded drivers and delivered food, firewood and propane to communities. Noem also declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to deliver firewood to the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux tribes.