|
Crackdown on sex trade in South Korea nets 500 arrests
By Joseph Giordono
October 10, 2004
Seoul — Just over two weeks into a sweeping crackdown by South Korean police on
brothels, nightclubs and other sex-trade fronts, officials have reported more
than 500 arrests and say phone tips reporting suspected illegal activity have
increased markedly.
Police officials used to get one or two calls a day nationwide reporting
prostitution, a senior police official said. But now, with the publicity
surrounding the crackdown, they’re getting 30 to 40 calls daily reporting
illegal sex-trade activities.
That, said Superintendent Lee Geum-hyong of the National Police Agency, also is
due in part to a new 20 million won (roughly $17,000) reward system for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of human traffickers.
Lee is heading the special police anti-prostitution campaign, which debuted
last month after harsher laws went into effect.
While prostitution has been illegal in South Korea since 1948, officials said,
it has long been an open and rarely punished practice. Brothel owners operate
in the open, with nearly 100 distinct red-light districts throughout the
country. The system thrived on bribes and sexual favors, police officials have
acknowledged, vowing to change the way they operate.
On a recent weekend night on “Hooker Hill,” the red-light district in Itaewon,
just outside Yongsan Garrison, the police crackdown — coupled with a 9 p.m.
U.S. Forces Korea curfew — seemed to be having an effect.
More than half the nightclubs on the hill were shuttered, with only a few women
calling to passers-by. Before the crackdown, the street would be teeming with
men and prostitutes.
This past week, a pair of laconic “working girls” sat on the steps of a club
near the top of the hill, complaining about the lack of customers. At the
bottom of the hill, a group of South Korean police officers stood watch, a
presence that caused many prospective customers to continue walking.
When one young foreigner walked by the club, the girls half-heartedly called
out to him, offering a crackdown-related discount.
Police officials say they will maintain the pressure, even when a special
30-day intensive regulation period ends Oct. 31.
Sex-trade workers and club owners, for their part, are fighting back. According
to the South Korean government, the sex trade brought in $20 billion a year
nationwide before the crackdown. A group of brothel owners, who face 10-year
jail sentences under the new, harsher laws, formed a nationwide association to
protest the move.
Brothel owners and some sex-industry workers have held numerous public
protests, demanding the South Korean government provide alternative job
training if the crackdown continues.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
South
Korea bar girls bemoan deployment effects, but applaud prostitution ban
10-10-2004
Korean
crackdown could upset balance of sex trade with Japan
10-10-2004
Prostitutes
rally against sex work crackdown
10-7-2004
New
anti-prostitution measure causes stir 10-4-2004
Anti-prostitution
laws draw more protests
10-1-2004
Sex
traders protests police crackdown
9-24-2004
Story
of crackdowns and disappearing prostitution
9-24-2004
Troops
support, wonder about effectiveness of anti-prostitution rules
9-24-2004
S.
Korea in new anti-prostitution drive
9-23-2004
Fighting
prostitution is a battle
9-23-2004
|
