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Troops support, wonder about effectiveness of anti-prostitution rules
By Joseph Giordono and Franklin Fisher
September 24, 2004
Seoul — U.S. servicemembers in South Korea largely support newly proposed rules
to make pandering illegal under military law but also wonder about the
effectiveness of military and government efforts to combat the sex trade and
human trafficking overseas.
Tuesday in Washington, top Pentagon officials announced their intention to add
a specific anti-prostitution charge to the Uniform Code of Military Justice,
making a conviction punishable by one year confinement and a dishonorable
discharge.
Wednesday at U.S. bases in South Korea, reaction was swift.
“It kind of surprises me that there wasn’t something specific about that in the
UCMJ before but I think this shows the [military] is not just saying ‘stop
doing it,’ they’re putting out a punishment that will make a lot of people
think twice,” said Sgt. Michael Wright, of the 18th Medical Command.
“This would show they’re really serious.”
Sitting at an outdoor cafe around the corner from Itaewon’s infamous “Hooker
Hill” — a red-light district just a stone’s thrown from the U.S. military
headquarters at Yongsan Garrison — another group of soldiers agreed.
“Absolutely it makes sense,” said Spc. Tim Roberts, of 1st Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division. “I don’t know how many guys will actually have to get busted
before it starts working, but it’s gotta help cut down the problem.”
Staff Sgt. Kristie Knappenberger, of the 303rd Intelligence Squadron at Osan
Air Base, thinks such an addition to the UCMJ might be a good thing, especially
if it helps curb servicemember involvement with prostitutes, including
occasional marriages to women who work in bars, known as so-called “juicy
girls.”
“I don’t see any problem with it,” Knappenberger said of the prospective
change. “I don’t think it would be a bad idea. If anything, it would be good.
... I know there’s always been a big deal about the girls downtown — ‘juicies.’
So it would help here and stateside.
“A lot of junior people get here and they get involved with that and it affects
them not only here but at home. Once they return home, financially, with their
family life, if they do decide to get married to one of the girls they met, it
carries over.”
Senior Airman Tom Guess of the 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron also thought
it might be beneficial. And he saw nothing wrong with having the proposed
change apply in countries in which prostitution might be legal.
“I think it’s fair,” said Guess. “ ‘Cause I mean, if you get caught doing it in
the civilian world — I don’t see why it would be different. If you go to Saudi
Arabia you can’t really drink there. You can drink in the States but you can’t
drink in Saudi Arabia.”
Military officials also promised a crackdown on civilian contractors not
subject to the UCMJ.
“Nobody’s saying soldiers don’t go to hookers, but lots of times, it’s the
civilian guys who are out there on Hooker Hill all the time,” said one soldier.
“You’ve got to crack down on both groups.”
Some soldiers questioned whether either the new U.S. military or South Korean
efforts would have any real effect on the sex trade. Sgt. Nicole Webster, for
example, thinks the demand always will outpace legal efforts.
“If that’s what someone is looking for, you’re not going to be able to stop
them with more threats. They already know they’ll get punished for it under
existing rules but that doesn’t seem to make some people think twice,” she
said.
One suggestion she had was for the military to make public the punishments
levied under the existing codes. U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Leon J.
LaPorte told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that military efforts
have “resulted in the prosecution of more than 400 servicemembers for related
offenses, such as curfew violation and trespassing posted off-limits
locations.”
But as Webster and other soldiers pointed out, those sanctions largely are
doled out through nonjudicial punishment, details of which the military does
not release. Any deterrent effect of such punishments usually does not reach
beyond a small number of the soldiers’ friends, the soldiers said.
And if prostitution already is illegal in South Korea, Webster asked, why would
the new rules be more effective at preventing people from frequenting
prostitutes?
The proposed military changes coincide with a new set of South Korean laws
meant to crack down on the sex industry — which technically is illegal but in
practice is an open, rampant and lucrative business. South Korean officials say
a major purpose of their new campaign — in addition to the new laws — is to
more strictly enforce existing laws.
According to the Gender Equality Ministry, more than 330,000 women worked in
some 80,000 sex industry establishments in 2002, the last year figures were
available.
All told, the ministry said, the sex industry in South Korea — including legal
entertainment associated with brothels — accounts for some $20 billion each
year.
Beginning Wednesday, tougher anti-prostitution laws took effect in South Korea,
including one requiring a mandatory three-year prison sentence for anyone
convicted of engaging in human trafficking for the sex trade. Members of
organized crime would get a minimum of five years.
Another new law offers rewards of 20 million won (around $17,000) for
information leading to the conviction of human traffickers. Another provision
lets the government confiscate all proceeds and property earned through the
illegal sex trade. An additional new wrinkle would differentiate legally
between women involuntarily in the sex trade (who would be classified as
victims) and those who are determined to voluntarily sell sex (who would be
punished as criminals).
Under a broader program, South Korea’s government has promised to shut down all
of the country’s estimated 70 red-light districts.
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