UN: "Han Judicial Institutions Treat Filipino Women Driven to Prostitution as Criminals"... Recommend System Reform

The United Nations has claimed that South Korean law enforcement agencies failed to protect the rights of foreign women forced into prostitution venues and treated them like criminals, causing secondary harm.

According to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on the 26th (local time), CEDAW pointed out on the 24th that "South Korea violated the rights of women" in response to a complaint filed by three Filipino women who entered South Korea on performance visas, were investigated on prostitution charges, and were ordered to leave the country.

The women entered the country in 2014 with an E-6 type visa for artistic performance, specifically the 'Performance Activities at Entertainment Establishments' (E-6-2) visa. The committee explained that although they entered to work as club singers, they worked as employees at entertainment establishments in Seoul, had their passports confiscated by the owners, and were forced to provide sexual favors to customers.

In March 2015, the police raided the establishment and arrested the women along with others, investigating them on prostitution charges. The committee explained that police officers and officials from the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters treated them as criminals rather than victims of crime. Furthermore, although the women claimed to be victims of human trafficking, they were only investigated for prostitution charges, and none of the immigration officials or police officers asked them about any human rights violations they had suffered.

The women were detained for 40 days and then ordered to leave the country in April 2015. They filed an administrative lawsuit in objection, but it was dismissed in the first trial in 2017, and after losing in the second and third trials in 2018, they filed a complaint with the United Nations in November of the same year.

The committee stated, "The women suffered discrimination during the investigation and judicial process," and "South Korea did not guarantee their right to access the judicial system and seek adequate remedies. Their rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women were violated."

It further recommended, "We request full compensation for the victims from the Republic of Korea," and "The current E-6-2 visa system should be revised, and supervision of entertainment-related businesses employing foreign women should be strengthened."

The committee also added, "It is necessary to ensure that innocent women are not arbitrarily arrested or suffer collateral damage during law enforcement raids, and to strengthen investigations and punishments against perpetrators of human trafficking for sexual exploitation."

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