SKorea: NKorean refugees forced into prostitution

http://asiancorrespondent.com/52278/north-korean-refugees-forced-into-prostitution/

SKorea: NKorean refugees forced into prostitution
By Nathan Schwartzman Apr 12, 2011 12:33PM UTC
3 Comments and 0 Reactions
Original article in Korean is at this link.

A group of people has been arrested for imprisoning a group of female North Korean refugees who had been trafficked from China and then forcing them into prostitution.

The international crimes division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on April 12 that it had arrested without detention 40-year-old north Korean refugee Ms. Kim and three others on charges of forcing female North Korean refugees into prostitution in violation of the Special Law on Prostitution.

According to police, from February 2007 through November 2009 Ms. kima nd the others brought 70 North Korean women trafficked from Qingdao, China into the business and accomodations they operated, earning over 30 million won in illegal profits from forcing them into prostitution.

Also, they are accused of placing a 400,000 won bounty on Ms. Jo, a North Korean refugee in her mid-30s who escaped the business.

Police say that they took 20% of the 100,000 won the victimized women earned per encounter in the bars they were forced to perform prostitution in, and were even beaten if they did not earn enough.

Investigators found that they took advantage of the fact that North Korean refugee women in China have no contacts in South Korea and no regular residence, and paid 3.6 million won to Chinese brokers to bring them to Korea.

Police believe that there are more perpetrators invovled in the crimes including operators of brothels in China.