Forced Prostitution... Constitutional Court "Revokes Suspension of Prosecution"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has ruled to "cancel the non-prosecution disposition" for a foreigner who was forced into prostitution through threats.

On the 11th, the Constitutional Court announced that it unanimously accepted the constitutional complaint filed by a Thai woman, Ms. A, who requested the cancellation of the prosecution's non-prosecution disposition.

Ms. A entered Korea with an airline ticket sent by an employment agent to work at a Thai massage parlor. However, the place she was taken to by the agent was not a Thai massage parlor but a decadent massage parlor where prostitution took place.

The agent forced Ms. A into prostitution, and having no other way to repay the introduction fee, Ms. A eventually engaged in prostitution four times. During this process, when Ms. A expressed her intention to refuse prostitution and return to Thailand, the agents confined her in a one-room apartment and even threatened, "If you don't repay the money, we will sell you elsewhere."

The Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, investigating the case, recognized Ms. A's involvement in prostitution mediation and issued a non-prosecution disposition.

However, Ms. A, claiming to be a victim, filed a constitutional complaint against the disposition. The Constitutional Court judged that considering Ms. A's economic circumstances and language barriers, it cannot be concluded that she voluntarily engaged in prostitution just because she did not actively refuse the agent's demands.

The Court emphasized the credibility of Ms. A's claim as a victim of prostitution, noting that she was confined after attempting to leave for Bangkok immediately after prostitution and that the massage parlor owner acknowledged Ms. A as a "victim of human trafficking."

The Constitutional Court explained, "Ms. A is a foreigner who has difficulty communicating in Korean, lacks a social support base in our country, and has a low understanding of our legal system. She entered the country believing she would only do massage work without engaging in prostitution, but was subjected to significant psychological pressure after being demanded to engage in prostitution by the agent, the only person with whom she could communicate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.