Japanese Women and Brokers Arrested for Overseas Prostitution in Korea

Arrest Warrant Issued for 30s Brothel Owner
Posted Ads for 'Yeoldo-ui Sonyeodeul'

A group including Japanese women who engaged in prostitution in Korea and the intermediaries who arranged it were arrested by the police. They posted advertisements online under the title "Girls of the Archipelago."

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 11th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his 30s, identified as Mr. A, on charges of advertising and arranging prostitution with Japanese women on an online prostitution site (violation of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic).

Three Japanese women in their early to mid-20s who came from Japan and engaged in prostitution were also caught in the act on the 9th at a hotel in Gangnam, Seoul, on charges including violation of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A and three employees had been posting prostitution advertisements titled "Girls of the Archipelago" on an online prostitution site since the end of last year. They divided tasks such as promotion, managing the women, and brokerage at an office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The advertisements reportedly included photos of women wearing school uniforms or nearly nude, along with details such as body measurements and whether they could speak Korean.

The police estimate that they received between 300,000 and 1,300,000 KRW per prostitution session. It is known that the three arrested women earned over 4,700,000 KRW in revenue on the day of their arrest alone.

They entered Korea earlier this month for the purpose of prostitution. The police believe they falsely declared their purpose of entry as tourism and transferred their custody to the immigration office for violating the Immigration Control Act.

The police are investigating the exact duration of the crimes and the criminal proceeds. Meanwhile, it is reported that no recent records of Mr. A and his employees entering or leaving Japan have been found. The police also plan to investigate intermediaries who recruit women and send them to Korea.