Seoul City Detects 108,594 Cases of Online and SNS Prostitution Mediation and Advertising

'Sex Trade Brokerage Sites Disguised as Business Trip Massage' Reported, Leading to Punishment of 5 Operators
By Platform, SNS Accounts for About 90,000 Cases; By Content, Business Trip Massage and Dating Agency Total 77,000 Cases, the Most Frequent

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The ‘Seoul Internet Citizen Monitoring Group’ operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government has uncovered a prostitution brokerage site disguised as a business trip massage service, leading to the punishment of five operators.

On the 8th, according to Seoul City, it was revealed that the site operator was not merely promoting establishments but was directly brokering prostitution using a new method, and they were punished accordingly. The site was found guilty of advertising, brokering, and aiding prostitution through illegal sites, as well as violating the obligation to disclose identity in telecommunication sales business. The main operator received a one-year prison sentence (with a two-year probation) and a fine of 333.93 million KRW, while the other four were fined a total of 10 million KRW.

Over the past year, the Seoul Internet Citizen Monitoring Group detected 108,594 prostitution inducement advertisements on the internet, SNS, and smartphone applications (Apps). This is the highest number since monitoring began in 2011, representing a 1.6-fold increase compared to 61,892 reports in 2020. Among these, 101,135 cases were reported to regulatory bodies such as the Korea Communications Standards Commission, the Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization, and online service providers, resulting in deletion, access blocking, and service termination measures.

Seoul City announced that it will recruit 1,000 citizens on a first-come, first-served basis from the 8th to the 22nd to participate as the 12th ‘Internet Citizen Monitoring Group’ this year. The city encouraged active participation through continuous guidance on keyword search methods for reporting, expanded online education, and events. Using the data monitored by the Internet Citizen Monitoring Group, Seoul City collected additional evidence and conducted on-site verification to report and prosecute those involved in the illegal sex industry, resulting in 309 administrative actions and 41 criminal prosecutions last year alone. The estimated fines and confiscations amounted to 490 million KRW.

The 12th ‘Internet Citizen Monitoring Group’ this year is open to citizens residing in Seoul or workers and university students attending universities or workplaces located in Seoul, aged 19 or older. After completing online preliminary education, participants will be active for 10 months from March to December.

Meanwhile, Seoul City also operates a ‘Citizen Participation Platform Against Prostitution’ open to all citizens. Additionally, this year, to raise awareness about prostitution issues closely related to citizens’ daily lives and to facilitate easy reporting and participation, the city will produce and distribute citizen guides and continuously promote reporting methods through various media to encourage citizen participation. In particular, the city plans to strengthen activities planned and led directly by citizens.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office, said, “Thanks to the voluntary participation of citizens, we were able to actively block prostitution brokerage advertisements that evolve moment by moment and punish those involved,” and added, “We hope for great interest and active participation in the newly recruited citizen monitoring group.”

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