Police Arrest 1,666 in Prostitution Crackdown; 'Corporate' Rings Surge Fivefold

Police arrested 1,666 people in a special crackdown on prostitution, a 24% increase from the previous year. The operation significantly increased arrests of organized, "corporate-style" prostitution rings, with a fivefold rise in such cases.

Authorities focused on dismantling prostitution networks with at least three members, including operators, managers, and advertisers. These "corporate-style" operations saw 50 cases reported, a substantial jump from the 10 cases during the same period last year.

Notable cases included the bust of a large entertainment venue in Seoul's Gangnam district, where 11 individuals were arrested for facilitating prostitution through Telegram advertisements, attracting around 1,400 members. In Incheon, a prostitution ring operating out of seven rented apartments was dismantled, with the owner arrested for arranging 9,201 instances of prostitution and authorities seizing 1.7 billion won in criminal proceeds.

Foreign nationals were also targeted, with a ring in Jeju busted for using a website and WeChat to advertise prostitution to Chinese tourists. Additionally, a case in Daegu highlighted forced prostitution, where 60 individuals were arrested for detaining and coercing three foreign women into sex work after confiscating their passports.

Landlords providing venues for illegal operations also faced charges, with 25 cases this year compared to 11 last year. Eleven websites used for prostitution advertisements were shut down, and blocked phone numbers related to such ads increased by 535% to 16,956.

Lee Seung-hyeop, head of the National Police Agency's Crime Prevention and Response Bureau, attributed the successful crackdown to increased investigative resources, including a 40-person increase in staff and new teams in Gangwon and Jeju. He emphasized the agency's commitment to dismantling core prostitution structures, recovering illicit profits, and strengthening inter-agency cooperation. The agency also plans to improve investigative environments with resources like high-performance PCs.

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The special crackdown this year, reflecting the results of increasing the investigative team's authorized strength by 40 people at the beginning of the year and establishing investigative teams in Gangwon and Jeju, is the result of a strong will to dismantle the core structure of prostitution rings and recover illegal profits to the end.