Sex trade still problem despite tough law By Published : Oct 1, - Updated : Oct 1, - In July a series of three suicides occurred in Pohang, a port city about kilometers southeast of Seoul. After one woman killed herself, the others followed suit, feeling pressure to bear the debts she left behind.
Aimed at rooting out the rampant sex trade here, the government implemented the Special Law on Sex Trade in Brothels in red-light districts were shut down and millions of pimps and prostitutes were forced to quit working.
Marking the sixth anniversary of the law, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held Thursday a meeting of experts to discuss the situation.
Participants, consisting of academics, activists and government officials from the ministry and police, agreed that the law has lost its early momentum while prostitution is still rampant in its blind spot. When found to have bought sex, most clients are punished with fines. Kwak Chang-yong, chief of the female crimes division at the National Police Agency, also admitted that the sex trade remains profitable because the people involved earn more money than the potential fines imposed.
According to him, a client pays , to , won for prostitution at a massage parlor. If the shop hires three women and they service three clients a day, its profits could reach 40 to 50 million won per month. No administrative measures such as suspension of business are imposed. Their promotional skills are getting cleverer. Some brothels operate popular online websites where clients post their comments after using their prostitution services. Others scatter thousands of name card-sized flyers using a vehicle with a hole at the bottom.
