[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A so-called "21st-century human trafficking" case has been revealed, in which organized crime groups from Jeonnam sold intellectually disabled women to Yongjugol in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, a known sex trafficking hub.
According to the legal and police authorities on the 29th, last year, a gang of organized criminals active in the Jeonnam area lured intellectually disabled women and sold them for money to Yongjugol in Paju.
The investigation confirmed a total of three victims, who were handed over to sex establishments in three separate instances in April, June, and July of last year. A full-scale investigation began earlier this year, and to date, about ten suspects have been arrested or booked without detention, with some already indicted and undergoing trial.
The suspects used the method of "dating" to lure the intellectually disabled women. They started romantic relationships with the women they intended to hand over to the establishments, gaining their trust, and then persuaded them by saying, "I will help you earn a lot of money," thereby tricking the women into following them.
The victims, who lived in the Jeonnam region, were deceived by lies and suffered from sex trafficking in Yongjugol, Paju, hundreds of kilometers away. The suspects reportedly received several million won per person as introduction fees and about 500,000 won per person for transportation costs to Yongjugol. However, the women handed over to the establishments were forced to engage in sex work while burdened with so-called "advance payments."
The suspects were charged under Article 288, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act (Abduction or Enticement for the Purpose of Sexual Assault, etc.), which punishes human trafficking. According to this provision, anyone who abducts or entices a person for labor exploitation, sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, or organ harvesting can be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years and not more than fifteen years.
Investigators expect there to be more victims, but it is difficult to determine whether the women found in the Yongjugol establishments were victims of "sex trafficking inducement" because they have been reluctant to cooperate with the investigation.
Yongjugol in Paju, which originated as a U.S. military base town in the 1960s, was one of the largest sex trafficking hubs in South Korea. Although it began to decline after large-scale crackdowns around the enactment of the Special Act on Prostitution in 2005, some establishments still maintain operations even now, as redevelopment plans are underway.
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