Paju-si, Uninterrupted Administrative Enforcement to Completely Close Prostitution Districts

Maintenance of Illegal Buildings in the Prostitution District
Essential Measures to Eliminate Safety Hazards and Illegal Activities

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) announced on the 23rd that it plans to continuously carry out administrative enforcement without interruption this year as well, following last year, to firmly achieve the goal of closing the prostitution district.

Paju City has been continuously carrying out administrative enforcement without interruption this year, following last year. Photo by Paju City

In January, a status re-investigation was conducted, and prior notices of disposition were issued to building owners with remaining violations. In February, administrative enforcement warnings, warrant issuance, and selection of service providers will be finalized, and from March, full-scale administrative enforcement will be continuously implemented. Concurrently, re-imposition of compliance fines on violating buildings will be carried out to actively encourage voluntary correction by building owners.

Currently, the prostitution district has undergone a total of seven rounds of administrative enforcement on 22 buildings, starting with the first enforcement in November 2023, resulting in six buildings fully corrected and 16 partially corrected. Through voluntary correction by building owners, a total of 43 buildings?21 fully corrected and 22 partially corrected?have been maintained.

The continuous administrative enforcement has raised awareness of the city’s strong determination to close the prostitution district and has spread a voluntary correction atmosphere within the district.

In fact, the number of operating buildings, which was about 80 in 2023, has drastically decreased to about 30 after administrative enforcement, and among the 65 maintained buildings, 43 buildings, accounting for approximately 66%, were maintained voluntarily by the building owners, with the number continuing to increase.

A Paju City official emphasized, “We plan to firmly achieve the goal of closing the prostitution district by promoting uninterrupted administrative enforcement through a long-term and systematic plan rather than a one-time measure, and through maintenance of violating buildings, we will eradicate illegal prostitution and create an environment where local residents can live with peace of mind.”

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