Court rules in favor of Filipina prostitutes

After informal and non-binding hearings, the Seoul District Court ruled that three night club owners in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, must pay from 4 million ($3,200) to 6 million won in compensation to each of 11 Filipinas who said they were forced into prostitution at the clubs.
The night clubs are located near Camp Casey, a U.S. military base.
The Philippine Embassy here instituted the proceedings, making it the first embassy to take such steps on behalf of its nationals.
The court agreed that the women had been forced into prostitution, and said the compensation was based partly on Philippine income levels. Both parties have two weeks to consider the court’s informal verdict before deciding whether to pursue the matter formally. The lawyer for the women complained after the decision that the compensation was too little.