Special Crackdown Ends but War between Police and Traffickers Continues

Special Crackdown Ends but War between Police and Traffickers Continues. October. 22, 2004 23:21. by Jae-Dong Yu needjung@donga.com jarrett@donga.com.

The Crackdown—

Police conducted a special crackdown on sex trafficking for a month starting on September 23, deploying 71,800 police officers and arresting a total 4,365 people in 1,575 cases for violating the special law against sex trafficking.

Among those arrested, the majority was the 2,352 men who bought sex, accounting for 54 percent of the cases. Eight hundred forty-nine sex traffickers and 660 female sex trade workers were also taken into custody, accounting for 19 percent and 16 percent of the arrests, respectively.

By occupation, 41 percent of the male sex buyers were office workers and 20 percent were self-employed. The largest age groups were the 30’s and 20’s, consisting 45 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

The police acknowledged 406 prostitutes as victims and exempted them from criminal liability. Five female sex workers who reported on forceful sex traffickers have either already been rewarded or are under consideration for monetary compensation.

Series of Business Re-openings—

Many traffickers are openly saying that they will be back to business, expecting that there will be less law enforcement once the crackdown period ends.

A member of the brothel owners’ association “Han Teo National Coalition” said, “We have to work like we did before in order to make our living, regardless of how much police crackdown there is,” and added, “We have agreed to restart the business around October 25 in the business owners’ meeting.”

One member of the “Miari Cleaning Committee,” a group of brothel owners in Miari, Seoul, speculated, “All these stores (brothels) will open as soon as it passes midnight on October 23. “He added, “Maybe we won’t serve customers that day, but we will put on the lights in protest.”

One owner of a similar sex trade business said, “Even during the crackdown, many ‘Hu Ge Tel’ (resting places) were open because the police placed most of the officers in the red light district only.” He tipped, “Many brothels decided to reopen after making an interior renovation to avoid the crackdown.

The Police Stance—

The police holds a strong stance that it won’t stop legal enforcement against sex trafficking.

Lee Geum-hyung, head of the Woman and Children’s department revealed on October 22, “There are about 10 incoming reports per day to the 117 hot line,” and added, “There are task force teams in 128 police stations near the red light districts. Also, each local police agency has its own female mobile investigation units, so we won’t have much problem controlling sex trade.”

The police has set a policy that it will continue its current pace in cracking down on sex trade in the areas that are populated by brothels, such as Miari and Chungryangri in Seoul.

In that light, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plan to send a mobile unit to support the stations in these areas.