Women Trafficked to S. Korea to Provide Sexual Services to US Servicemen: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Women Trafficked to S. Korea to Provide Sexual Services to US Servicemen: Report

Young women are being lured to South Korea and kept as virtual slaves to provide sexual services for U.S. servicemen stationed there, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration.

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Young women are being lured to South Korea and kept as virtual slaves to provide sexual services for U.S. servicemen stationed there, according to a report released Tuesday.

The International Organization for Migration said that at least 5,000 women, mostly Filipinas and Russians, have been trafficked into South Korea for the sex industry since the mid-1990s but the real figure may be much higher.

The Filipina women are targeted because they speak English, making them popular with U.S. servicemen, the report said. In 1999, around 1,000 Filipinas were working in bars in towns near U.S. bases.

Some of the women are teen-agers, although many have college degrees. Nearly all come from the same area of central Luzon, the Philippines main island. The Russian women, many of whom entered with false passports, often held professional jobs at home before going to South Korea.

Most of the women are recruited to work as bar staff and enter the country on visas for working in the entertainment industry, the report said. The visa does not allow prostitution.

"These young women are often pressed to provide sexual services, sometimes from the first day they arrive," the report said.

The report said the women were told they could earn up to dlrs 600 a month, but they then found themselves charged for their air fare and accommodation.

"Hidden fees, charges, employer fines, forced savings and other fees often completely deprive these women of salaried income, forcing them to sustain themselves on a commission system based on the sale of drinks, and can virtually turn them into indentured servants," it said.

Women who refuse to work or try to escape face violence and intimidation.

The report said it had found "some level of organization" in getting the women to South Korea and estimated that hundreds of women arrive every month to be used in the sex industry. But it said a proper criminal investigation would be needed to establish whether there is a larger organized crime syndicate involved.

The report said Korean authorities and charities have made efforts to stamp out trafficking, but there is still a lot to do.

"There is still a lack of official consensus on the Korean terminology used to describe the trafficking of women into situations where they are exploited as prostitutes or placed in low-playing jobs by abusive employers," said June Lee, author of the report.

"Until that consensus is reached, it will be very difficult to establish methodologies to monitor the problem or even to collect meaningful statistics."

The U.S. Military said in June it would investigate whether its prohibition on prostitution and trafficking in South Korea is being enforced.

The move followed a report by a Cleveland television station that secretly filmed U.S. military police patrolling bars and brothels, where the officers said women were forced to prostitute themselves. Lawmakers expressed concerns that the officers were in effect working on behalf of the establishments.

South Korea was one of 23 countries named by the United States last year as not meeting minimum standards to combat human trafficking.

The Seoul government said the U.S. report was inaccurate.

Source: Agencies

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