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Appeals court upholds sentence for woman who forced vulnerable women into prostitution

Published: 18 Jun. 2025, 16:33

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

An appellate court on Wednesday upheld a 10-year prison sentence for a woman in her 20s who coerced other young women into prostitution more than 1,000 times over a two-year period.

The Daegu High Court rejected appeals by both the prosecution and the defendants in the second trial of the woman and her three male accomplices, who were charged with violating laws related to prostitution mediation and other crimes.

The court sentenced the woman to 10 years in prison in the first trial and handed down prison terms of five, three and seven years to the three male defendants, all in their 20s. The court also ordered each of the four to forfeit 27.38 million won ($19,900).

Prosecutors said the group operated between September 2022 and August 2024, moving between apartment units in the Daegu area while coercing women into prostitution. They allegedly earned around 100 million won through the operation.

Investigators found that the woman and her husband lured victims — often in financially vulnerable situations — by offering housing and jobs.

They used a victim’s young daughter as leverage in one case.

The couple lived in the same residence as two victims, with whom they built trust by offering money and meals as a tool to gradually isolate the victims.

The woman later discovered a government program offering housing deposit support to newlyweds. She forced one of the victims to register a false marriage with her lover to exploit the policy.

She also posed as a victim herself to solicit money from another victim’s parents, claiming she needed funds for medical treatment.

When one of the victims attempted to escape, the woman used a location-tracking app previously installed on the victim’s phone to find her.

She allegedly assaulted the victim and brought her back to a residence and confined her. The group shaved one victim’s hair down to 1 millimeter (0.03 inches) and used random chat apps to monitor whether she was performing her duties as a prostitute satisfactorily.

“The victims have not forgiven the defendants,” the appeals court said. “Instead, they have asked this court to impose harsher punishment. Given their role in coercing prostitution, the defendants are subject to strong condemnation.”

A court sign [YONHAP]

The lower court earlier ruled that “defendants exploited the victims for over two years under the guise of family or marital relations.”

“They used a child as a hostage and forced one victim to engage in prostitution three to 10 times a day,” the court said. “The nature of the crime is extremely serious.”

Prosecutors had initially demanded 15 years in prison for the defendant and five-, seven- and 10-year sentences for the male accomplices.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]