Refer Report
Even in 2024, the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Special Act on the Punishment, etc. of Prostitution, the illegal prostitution industry is still thriving. The main culprits supporting the prostitution industry, which was estimated to be worth 30-37 trillion won (based on the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy, 2016), are sex buyers and prostitution brokers, but the government is also responsible. The Hankyoreh investigative team has tracked the issues in the government’s response for five months and has published the stark reality of the prostitution brokerage business that has become a highly profitable business.
“This business will bring in 20 million won per month once it gets established. It is a very good item that guarantees high profits with low capital.”
The Hankyoreh investigative team approached Mr. K, a self-proclaimed “prostitution business start-up consultant,” without revealing that they were reporting on him, and heard about the prostitution brokerage business. According to Mr. K’s explanation, in order to start an officetel-type prostitution business (OP) in the Gangnam area of Seoul, an initial deposit and key money of about 14.5 million won is required, as well as a fixed monthly payment of about 2 to 5 million won.
Fixed expenses include rent per room in Gangnam, Seoul, 1.5 million won, advertising partnership fee for a prostitution brokerage site that promotes the establishment, 72,000 won for the use of two illegal cannon phones used for reservations, etc., 100,000 won for the use of a database of suspected phone numbers of prostitutes and the police, and 100,000 won for other consumables.
The income is 140,000 to 200,000 won per hour (1 hour of prostitution) at an office in Gangnam, Seoul, and the owner takes at least 60,000 won of this. Mr. K said, “Assuming 3 prostitutes come to work every day, each of them does 4 (prostitution) without fail,” and the prostitution broker said, “Even if you calculate it at the minimum amount, the daily income is 72 tickets (720,000 won). In a month, you can earn 21.6 million won.” If you subtract fixed expenses from this, the owner can earn at least 15 million won.
Compared to the income earned, the punishment when caught is minimal. According to the law on punishment of acts such as arranging prostitution, if you arrange prostitution ‘as a business’, you can be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 70 million won. However, the reality is different.
The total number of criminal disposition records for 74 prostitution establishments (owners) monitored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Together Again Counseling Center from 2015 to June 2024 through the office of former National Assembly member Oh Young-hwan is 93. Of these, only fines were imposed in 74 cases, and prison sentences were imposed in 19 cases. Four out of five cases end with the payment of fines. Only five cases resulted in additional collection and confiscation. The average fine amount was 3,046,000 won. Even when combined with cases where both prison sentences and fines were imposed (86 cases), the average amount is around 3.39 million won. The average prison sentence is just over 10 months.
Jang Im-da-hye, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy who participated in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 2019 and 2022 Survey on the Status of Prostitution (Study on the Status of Judicial Processing), said, “Law enforcement agencies consider prostitution as a crime aimed at supporting the livelihood of business operators, and are not punishing it severely.”
Lee Ha-young, co-representative of the National Coalition for Resolution of Prostitution Issues, pointed out that “prostitution brokers continue to operate their businesses because the disadvantages they have to endure are small compared to the huge profits they make,” and that “even in cases where there are victims, the crime of forcing prostitution (Article 18 of the Prostitution Punishment Act, maximum sentence of 10 years in prison) is not easily recognized, showing that investigative authorities and courts are viewing the crimes of prostitution business owners lightly.”
Reporter Park Jun-yong juneyong@hani.co.kr, Reporter Chae Yoon-tae chai@hani.co.kr, Reporter Kwak Jin-san kjs@hani.co.kr
Source: Korean