Sex trafficking in South Korea

Male and female perpetrators in South Korea come from a wide range of backgrounds and a number are members of or facilitated by organized crime syndicates and gangs.

Some government officials, troops, celebrities, and police, as well as foreigners, have been complicit in sex trafficking in South Korea.

For instance, the Burning Sun scandal highlighted the widespread sex trafficking involving Korean celebrities and idols that had been going on for years and the resulting attempts in cover-ups.

[13] Cybersex trafficking and forced performances in live pornographic videos, as seen in the Nth room case and other incidents, is a growing issue.

[13] The number of child victims trafficked worldwide for sexual exploration or cheap labor on an annual basis is 1.2 million.

[19] In March 2020, Korean news organizations revealed details about a series of cases of sex trafficking through chat rooms, encrypted messaging apps (such as Telegram and Discord).

[20] In these cases, "at least 74 women and 16 minors performing forced sex acts for thousands of viewers who paid cryptocurrency to view it".

After the signing of the 1953 mutual defense treaty, South Korean camp towns, and prostitution for US military personnel, boomed.

Since demand for sex workers remained, South Korea's prostitution industry became populated with women from Russia and the Philippines who enter the country on tourist visas organized by pimps.

South Korean citizen and foreign victims are sex trafficked into and out of the provinces of South Korea . They are raped and physically and psychologically harmed in brothels, businesses, homes, hotel rooms, and other locations within these administrative divisions.