Sex Worker Found Dead Leaving Behind Kindergarten-Aged Daughter
Illegal Loan Company Sends Texts Saying 'Selling Body in Mia-ri'
Seoul City Takes Action to Eradicate Victimization
As the story of a sex worker who died leaving behind her daughter after suffering from illegal debt collection became known, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has stepped up to devise countermeasures.
On the 3rd, Seoul announced that it will investigate the actual damage caused by illegal debt collection targeting sex work districts and develop a system that filters out advertisements for prostitution and illegal lending using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. A city official explained, "Cases are increasing where vulnerable groups such as sex workers are lent money with exorbitant interest rates, and when they fail to repay the loans, they are threatened by having their weaknesses exploited. We will prepare and implement measures to protect sex workers who are easily driven into illegal private financing."
The city began efforts to prevent damage from illegal lending following the discovery on September 9th of Ms. A, a worker in the Mia-ri Texas district, a red-light area, who was found dead at a pension in a provincial area. According to reports, Ms. A was raising her daughter, who attended kindergarten, alone and borrowed several hundred thousand won from an illegal lending company. Over time, her debt snowballed, and when she could not repay the money, the lending gang sent text messages to her acquaintances saying, "Ms. A is working in Mia-ri and borrowed money but disappeared." When such messages were even sent to the teachers at her daughter's kindergarten, Ms. A could no longer endure and took her own life.
In response, the city is searching for the whereabouts of the victim’s child to protect her and is implementing measures to eradicate damage from illegal lending. First, it will begin investigating the current status of illegal lending damage targeting sex workers. As of the end of September, the remaining sex work districts in Seoul are Mia-ri Texas in Hawolgok-dong and Yeongdeungpo Station area in Yeongdeungpo-dong, with an estimated total of about 420 workers. The city plans to identify the damage status through field surveys and install speakers in the districts to broadcast announcements on reporting illegal debt collection. Additionally, it will strengthen publicity by installing logo lights and operate a dedicated KakaoTalk consultation window that allows anonymous counseling.
Furthermore, legal support, which has been provided only to debtors, will be expanded to include related parties such as family members and acquaintances of the debtors. To preemptively block advertisements, the city will also use the "Daepo Killer System," which disables illegal lending phone numbers by making calls unanswerable. This system continuously calls illegal businesses to prevent their operations. Moreover, evidence collection, investigation requests regarding illegal debt collection by lending companies, imposition of fines, and administrative measures such as business suspension will be strengthened. A city official stated, "It is difficult to prevent illegal lending damage to sex workers with only local government efforts," calling for active government-level countermeasures and added, "We will do our best to prevent damage by cooperating with related agencies within the possible scope."
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