VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0983/01 0940253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040253Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3695
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2276
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2382
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//

UNCLAS SEOUL 000983 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN SMIG KS
SUBJECT: KOREA BEGINS TO SEE THE LIGHT ON UNDERGROUND 
PROSTITUTION 
 
 
------------------------ 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION 
------------------------ 
 
¶1.  (U) Representative Cho Bae sook, Chairperson of the 
Culture and Tourism Committee, co-hosted a seminar at the 
National Assembly on March 20 to discuss the evolution of the 
prostitution industry in Korea.  The other host of the event 
was the Dasi-Hamkke Center (Together Again Center), a large 
NGO that provides shelter and support for victims of 
prostitution and human trafficking.  In addition to the two 
keynote speakers from the Center, a panel of eight officials 
from local and national government shared their insights into 
the changing nature of the prostitution industry in Korea. 
The panel included members from the National Assembly, 
National Police, Chief Prosecutor's office, Ministry of 
Communication and others.  The ROKG has recently cracked down 
on advertising used by underground prostitution venues, an 
area which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of 
Culture and Tourism, as one way to root out the growing 
problem of underground sex trade. 
 
¶2.  (U) Korea passed sweeping anti-prostitution legislation 
in 2004 that made all forms of prostitution illegal.  Soon 
after the law was passed, police initiated several prolonged 
crackdowns in an initial effort to curb the prostitution 
industry that was a widely accepted behind-the-scenes part of 
Korean society.  As NGOs and ROKG Ministries combined their 
public awareness efforts, public perception of prostitution 
slowly began to change and people began to understand the 
negative effects it can have on society.  As pressure against 
the prostitution industry mounted, brothel owners began to 
shift their work to alternate venues such as massage parlors, 
barber shops and singing rooms although a few traditional 
red-light districts continue to operate.  The Internet also 
became a popular method to arrange sexual encounters because 
it provided protection for business owners who wanted to keep 
a low profile.  As the prostitution industry in Korea 
continued to move underground, the ROKG was trying to keep 
pace with its legislation and law enforcement tactics.  END 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: CHO JIN-KYUNG, DASI-HAMKKE CENTER 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3.  (U) Under the theme of "Revealing Prostitution in 
People's Everyday Lives," the keynote speaker, Cho Jin-kyung, 
Director of Dasi-Hamkke Center, shared specific examples of 
how prostitution had permeated into the daily lives of 
ordinary citizens and how the industry was regulated. 
Current regulation efforts are centered on the business 
aspects of the industry.  Stricter regulation of advertising 
and issuance of business licenses were the first steps in 
putting pressure on underground prostitution rings. 
 
¶4.  (U) Director Cho summarized the findings of a research 
project her organization conducted to find out how widespread 
prostitution was in residential areas.  The research showed 
that prostitution in residential areas was prevalent in both 
urban and rural areas.  Urban areas had more large-size, 
high-end venues for prostitution like large "room-salons" and 
massage parlors that grew into established businesses.  One 
recent trend was for prostitution businesses to use 
incorrectly spelled words on their sign boards to indicate 
that the business provides a "different" service.  In rural 
areas, underground prostitution businesses tended to be more 
small-sized, low-end coffee shops or music bars (norae bang), 
often with connections to a neighboring motel. 
 
¶5.  (U) Countless websites and exchanges of information 
relating to prostitution were found on the Internet, ranging 
from advertisements to lure women into the business to 
reviews by customers who frequented these underground 
brothels.  Cho noted the remarkable adaptability of the 
prostitution industry to suit people's daily lives compared 
to the ineffectiveness of current regulations.  She called 
for stronger administrative action (fines, orders or other 
actions levied by the local government for breach of local 
ordinances), more police crackdowns and further clarification 
of the provisions in the law. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
SPEAKER 2: CHO MIN-YOUNG, DASI-HAMKKE CENTER 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Cho Min-young, Legal Counsel of the Dasi-Hamkke 
Center, discussed the legal regulations pertaining to the two 
neighborhoods where the Center conducted its fact-finding 
survey described in para. 4.  The study compared the number 
of legal violations committed by quasi-prostitution 
businesses (businesses that primarily provide a legitimate 
business service with prostitution as a secondary business) 
and the corresponding administrative actions that were 
imposed.  Some of the administrative actions taken against 
the businesses included warnings and fines (for poor 
bookkeeping, brokering prostitution and admitting juveniles 
to the premises), correction orders (for "misleading 
signboards, unauthorized changes in the layout of the 
building and noncompliance with fire codes), suspension of 
business and cancellation of business permits (for operating 
outside of their original business category, operating a 
massage parlor without a license and engaging in lewd or 
indecent business).  Cho concluded that although the current 
laws included provisions for administrative actions against 
quasi-prostitution venues, they were often too vague or 
ambiguous to be applied effectively while other provisions 
were simply not enforced. 
 
---------------- 
PANEL DISCUSSION 
---------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Prosecutor Kang Ji-sik from the Seoul Central 
District Prosecutors' Office suggested that the Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ) implement stronger administrative controls on 
real estate.  For example, some prostitution businesses are 
closed down only to reopen in the same location under a new 
name.  Korea should also shift from a registration-based 
system to a permission-based system for those business types 
that are now synonymous with underground prostitution.  Kang 
also suggested that the MOJ provide more compensation for 
informants in an effort to root out more underground 
businesses. 
 
¶8.  (U) Director General Kwon Yong-hyun from the Ministry of 
Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) suggested that Korea 
needed to establish a legal framework to regulate 
quasi-prostitution businesses whereas there are currently 
very few legal channels to pursue.  Kwon recommended stronger 
punishment of building owners who knowingly allow 
prostitution to occur on the property.  Finally, Kwon urged 
the central government to be harsher in its assessment of 
local government's regulatory practices for underground 
businesses. 
 
¶9.  (U) Team Director Park Soon-tae from the Ministry of 
Culture and Tourism said his Ministry had championed efforts 
since late 2006 to prevent "norae bang" (singing rooms) from 
turning into quasi-prostitution venues.  The Ministry 
promoted legislation that prohibited the sale of alcoholic 
beverages and prohibited the employment of "waitresses" who 
worked as prostitutes. 
 
¶10.  (U) Director Seo Jae-yul from the Seoul Metropolitan 
City Government reported the number of crackdowns on 
entertainment businesses:  85 bars, 87 singing bars, 132 
lodging facilities, 172 barber shops and 2 massage parlors 
were subject to administrative actions between 2004 and 2006. 
 Seo highlighted several challenges that police face when 
carrying out crackdowns; ineffectiveness due to the secret 
nature of the prostitution industry, jurisdiction limitations 
of local government officials, weak punishment and legal 
loopholes. 
 
¶11.  (U) Researcher Yun Deok-kyung from the Korean Women's 
Development Institute highlighted the difficulty in providing 
evidence of prostitution at quasi-prostitution venues.  Yun 
questioned the effectiveness of administrative actions and 
pointed out that only a small number of cases were actually 
prosecuted.  Yun recognized that "whistle-blowers" play the 
most effective role in cracking down on prostitution, but 
remained skeptical of how many of those cases booked for 
investigation through an insider's tip actually resulted in 
indictments and punishment. 
 
¶12.  (U) Women and Youth Team Director Lee Geum-hyung from 
the Korean National Police Agency argued that, unlike what 
many call a "balloon effect" (as the prostitution industry is 
constricted in Korea, prostitutes move to other countries 
with less law enforcement pressure) it was unfair to blame 
the Anti-Prostitution Act of 2004 as the root cause of 
quasi-prostitution activities.  Since the law was enacted in 
2004, crackdowns on quasi-prostitution venues far outnumbered 
those on traditional red-light districts (44 percent to 4 
percent, respectively).  Lee also highlighted the growing 
number of victims who utilized the National Police Agency's 
117 hotline (1,012 in 2004; 1,679 in 2005; 2,595 in 2006). 
Through this hotline, 598 victims were rescued and 2,187 
pimps or business owners providing prostitution services were 
booked for investigation.  She expressed concern about the 
sharp increase in the use of the Internet as a channel to 
lure juveniles into prostitution.  Since the enactment of the 
Anti-Prostituti 
on Act in 2004, 590 out of 744 cases, or 79 percent of 
juvenile prostitution cases, were brokered through the 
Internet. 
 
¶13.  (U) Rep. Hong Mi-young, a member of the Uri Party and 
the National Assembly Women's Affairs Committee, laid out her 
plans to initiate bills to revise the law on preventing 
prostitution and protecting victims.  Specifically, Hong 
proposed to amend the following laws: 
 
--Act on the Prevention of Prostitution and Protection of 
Victims:  Add a new clause on administrative actions so that 
local governments would have more power to order the closure 
of businesses providing prostitution services. 
 
--Act on the Punishment of Prostitution Brokerage:  Add a new 
clause that would enable officials to subject business owners 
to punishment when they have repeated violations. 
 
--Building Act: Add a new clause that subjects a business to 
administrative action if they illegally remodel a building 
for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. 
 
--Public Health Management Act: Add a clause that would 
include prostitution brokerage as the grounds for business 
closure and extend the period of business suspension when 
found to have continued operating a business after issuance 
of a closure order. 
 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The ROKG is finally beginning to devote more time 
and resources to better address the changing nature of the 
prostitution industry in Korea.  Recognizing that the 
industry has long since adapted to the 2004 laws, Korean 
lawmakers are scrambling to find better ways to update and 
enforce the existing laws.  Although many in Korea cite the 
notion of a "balloon effect" of prostitutes leaving Korea for 
other countries, this is not to say that the prostitution 
industry is shrinking considerably in Korea.  While many of 
the initiatives discussed at the conference appear to be 
effective methods for limiting the supply of prostitution, 
there was little discussion about how to address the demand. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Park Hyun-sook of the Ministry of Gender Equality 
and Family told poloff that in 2004, only 30 percent of the 
population knew that prostitution was illegal while today the 
number is 93 percent.  A serious debate on the issue erupted 
late last year as MOGEF introduced a plan where men would be 
paid if they promised not to engage in prostitution as part 
of the traditional end-of-year parties hosted by their 
employers.  Many men were angered that the Ministry continued 
to perpetuate the idea that most men still engage in 
prostitution.  The plan was quickly halted but not before the 
media in Korea and abroad highlighted the incident as part of 
a larger problem in Korea.  Any long-term plan that will 
effectively reduce the size of the prostitution problem in 
Korea will need to include programs to change the way Koreans 
view buying and selling sex. 
VERSHBOW