Gang Involved in Detaining and Sex Trafficking Foreign Women Recruited to Work at Restaurants in Jeju

A group that recruited foreign women to work in restaurants, such as serving food and beverages, then confined them and forced them into prostitution, has been arrested by the police and handed over to the prosecution.

On the 10th, Jeju Police Agency reportedly arrested and sent to prosecution four individuals, including Mr. A, a man in his 40s who owns a nightlife establishment in Jeju, and his wife, Ms. B, a Chinese woman in her 40s, on charges of confining Southeast Asian women and forcing them into prostitution (violation of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic), according to Yonhap News Agency.

They are also tracking a foreign broker, Mr. C, who recruited the victimized foreign women. The police have requested an Interpol red notice for Mr. C, who fled abroad.

The appearance of the victims who were in entertainment establishments. [Photo by Yonhap News]

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It was confirmed that they deceived victims by recruiting foreigners to work in customer service roles such as serving food and beverages at restaurants and bars, then brought them into the country.

In particular, to avoid police raids, the main entrance of the karaoke bar was closed, the sign lights were turned off, and they operated only for reserved customers, the police said.

Additionally, the group prepared a lodging facility in the basement of a building about 1 km away from the karaoke bar they operated, where they confined the victimized women and frequently threatened and monitored them to prevent escape, the police revealed.

One of the victims dramatically escaped on the afternoon of the 4th of last month while everyone was asleep and sought help from the police. Following this, the police raided the karaoke bar, uncovering the crimes of Mr. A and his group.

The police transferred all victims to protective facilities. Furthermore, it is known that the 'Notification Obligation Exemption System' was applied, which does not notify the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreigners Office of the identities of illegal foreign victims.

A police official urged, "We provide rewards for reports of crimes involving foreigners, and the identity of informants is strictly protected, so we ask for active cooperation."

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