Controversy Over Ban on 'Seongin Festival'… "Signal for Prostitution" VS "Beyond Rule of Law Administration"

Discussion between Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju, and Cheon Haram, Elected Official

Amid local governments such as Suwon and Paju refusing to permit the 'Adult Festival,' Cheon Haram, the elected representative of the Reform New Party, criticized the decision.

On the 24th, Cheon appeared on CBS Radio and pointed out that the local governments' refusal to allow the Adult Festival was "an arbitrary exercise of public authority under the slogan of 'creating a women-friendly city.'"

He emphasized, "Even if a city puts up a slogan saying 'We oppose all kinds of violence' and tries to block a fighting game festival, that cannot be justified," adding, "One slogan alone cannot serve as the basis for exercising public authority."

Cheon Ha-ram, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Reform New Party, is delivering his winning speech and determination for the 22nd National Assembly election at the Central Election Committee disbandment ceremony held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Appearing together, Kim Kyung-il, mayor of Paju, countered, "The Adult Festival is fundamentally based on the adult video industry," and said, "It is illegal in Korea, and I believe festivals rooted in illegality should be stopped."

In response, Cheon said, "You said the distribution of adult videos is illegal, but then does that mean the existence of AV actors themselves is illegal, and that Japanese AV actors appearing on YouTube broadcasts are also illegal?" He added, "Decisions to prohibit should be based on specific acts, not merely on a person's existence."

The debate over prostitution activities within the festival continued.

Mayor Kim stated, "At last year's Adult Festival held in Gwangmyeong, a special service reportedly charged about 3.5 million won for admission," and claimed, "It is very difficult to know what is happening in such a confined space, and only tracking is possible. These aspects are strong signals that can be linked to prostitution."

Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City (left), and Cheon Ha-ram, elected member of the Reform New Party (right), are debating on a radio broadcast. (Photo by CBS from the video of 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show')

Cheon responded, "You have to engage in prohibited behavior to stop it. If there is concrete evidence of prostitution at the Adult Festival, of course, investigations and punishments should follow," but he added, "Simply suspecting someone because they are an AV actor from Japan and assuming they must have engaged in prostitution is unreasonable."

Following last year's event in Gwangmyeong, this year's 'Adult Festival,' which was scheduled to be held in Suwon, changed its venue to Paju due to Suwon's refusal. However, Paju also faced strong opposition from civic groups, leading the organizers to relocate the event to Seoul.