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Couple sentenced for sex trafficking operation exploiting undocumented Thai women

Published: 11 May. 2025, 16:52 Updated: 11 May. 2025, 18:11

An image of a statue of Justitia, the goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A man and his partner have been sentenced for running a sex trafficking operation that involved exploiting undocumented Thai women under the pretense of “prepaid loans,” confining them illegally and subjecting them to constant surveillance.

The Changwon District Court sentenced a man in his 40s to two years in prison for violating the Act on the Punishment of Violences, including charges of unlawful confinement. His partner, a Thai woman in her 20s, received a one-year prison term suspended for two years.

The two had operated a brothel in Mokpo, South Jeolla, employing Thai women who were in Korea without legal status from September 2023 to January this year. They took large sums from the women in the name of “prepaid loans” and forced them to continue sex work to repay the debt. To prevent escape, the victims were confined and threatened.

The couple, who were having an affair outside of their own marriages, created workplace rules stating that women could not go outside unless accompanied by a manager and had to first repay their loans and accrued interest. They confiscated or photographed the women’s passports and IDs, and forced them to write contracts listing the home addresses of family members in Thailand.

The man took additional steps to limit the victims’ movements, blocking external windows with planks and keeping guard dogs near back exits to prevent escape. During business hours, he or other employees monitored the women at the entrance. At night, the brothel’s doors were locked with padlocks. He reportedly used his connections with local police and immigration officers to threaten the victims, saying they would be found if they ran away.

Even after collecting all the sex work proceeds, the perpetrators gave only a portion to the women.

The operation came to light after one of the victims reached out to the Mokpo Women’s Human Rights Center for help and was rescued.

“The method of confinement and the use of debt contracts would have exerted significant psychological pressure on the victims, especially considering their precarious immigration status,” the court stated. “[The female criminal] also participated in the joint confinement, taking advantage of the victims’ vulnerable circumstances, which makes her actions particularly egregious.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]