강남 최대 ‘성매매 알선’ 업주 잡혔다…성매매단속 1600여명 검거

The Seoul Special Investigation Team made 1,666 arrests during a crackdown on major establishments involved in sexual exploitation, including business owners, managers, and advertising personnel. The arrest total represents a 24% increase compared to the same period last year, with 28 more individuals apprehended. The team specifically focused on uncovering "enterprise-style" sex trafficking networks, which saw a five-fold increase compared to the previous year.

In Seoul, police seized control of a 800-square-meter major entertainment complex, arresting 11 people, including the business owner and manager, who were found to have lured over 1,400 members via Telegram. In Incheon, authorities intercepted a group that had used seven office buildings to conduct 9,201 sexual exploitation activities, confiscating 17 billion won in criminal revenue.

Foreign nationals were targeted in several cases, including a case in Jeju where an organization set up a sex club and promoted it to Chinese tourists through WeChat, resulting in the arrest of six key figures. Efforts to protect victims of forced sex work continued, with 60 arrests made in the case of a South Korean woman who was forcibly trafficked by three foreign nationals who stole her passport and took her photo for identification purposes.

The act of providing illegal venues to businesses was also addressed, with 25 new cases this year, compared to 11 last year. Eleven of the 11 clubs that became fronts for sex work were shut down, and phone numbers used for sex work advertisements increased by 535% year-over-year, reaching 16,956. Police Commissioner for Crime Prevention and Special Operations, Lee Eun-hak, stated that the recent operation resulted from a significant increase in the number of investigation teams and the establishment of new teams in Gangwon and Jeju, leading to the dismantling of key structures within sex trafficking organizations and the prevention of illegal earnings.

Looking forward, police plan to strengthen cooperation with related agencies and enhance their capabilities through the distribution of advanced surveillance technology.