Sex trafficking victims in South Korea are often sold in kissing rooms, massage parlours, and karaoke bars.
A police officer who engaged in commercial sex acts with a child was convicted under the act on the protection of child and juveniles against sexual abuse and sentenced to a fine of 15 million Korean Won ($14,070) and 40 hours of “john school.”[2] The government maintained efforts to protect trafficking victims.
The government did not report efforts to identify potential victims of trafficking aboard South Korean flagged fishing vessels.
The government made some services offered through these facilities available to male victims, such as counseling, medical, and legal assistance.
Nonetheless, NGOs reported the quality of government services were not adequate for male, disabled, foreign, or juvenile victims.
As a result of ineffective identification procedures, authorities arrested, detained, and deported sex trafficking victims.
The government offered foreign victims legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution.
As an incentive to encourage foreign trafficking victims to participate in investigations and prosecutions, the government issued G-1 visas with permission to work for up to one year.
MOEL provided interpretation and counseling services to migrant workers through 42 support centers that were partially funded by the government.
South Korean men remained a source of demand for child sex tourism in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The government continued to provide anti-trafficking training to troops prior to and after their deployment abroad on international peacekeeping missions.
In 2019, online group chats which distributed videos of women engaged in sexual acts without their consent, were discovered by the South Korean police.
In 2020, a Ring of chat groups was investigated which ran via an encrypted telegram messaging app and in which girls were filmed during forced sexual humiliation.
However, it is criticized that no formal guidelines for the identification of victims of trafficking in human beings have been established and no training for law enforcement agencies has been provided.