Owner of entertainment bar arranging prostitution at singing practice room under 'social distancing business suspension' booked

Scene of karaoke room crackdown on the 15th. Photo by Gangdong Police Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Following the implementation of social distancing level 2.5, which banned the operation of entertainment bars, business owners who rented karaoke rooms in residential areas of Seoul to operate and mediate prostitution were booked.

On the 16th, the Gangdong Police Station in Seoul announced that they booked 13 people, including entertainment bar official A, karaoke room owners, and 7 customers, on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic (Sex Trade Punishment Act), the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, and the Food Sanitation Act.

On the 15th of this month, around 10:30 p.m., A and others called male regular customers to a karaoke room in Myeongil-dong, Gangdong-gu. They provided entertainment such as alcohol, side dishes, and singing for 350,000 won per person. They are also suspected of arranging prostitution with female employees.

The police received intelligence that prostitution was being conducted in the form of an unlicensed entertainment bar and began an investigation. Subsequently, they formed a joint crackdown team with the Gangdong District Office's Health and Hygiene Department and conducted stakeouts. On the afternoon of the 15th, after confirming that people presumed to be customers were entering and exiting the building housing the karaoke room, they raided the prostitution site.

The police plan to determine the direction of legal action after further investigation of the suspects.

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