A ring that rented dozens of officetels across southern Gyeonggi, hired undocumented foreign women, and ran prostitution businesses was caught by police.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said on the 19th it arrested and sent to prosecutors 22 people, including the ringleader, a 30-year-old identified only by the initial A, Deputy Minister-level managers of the businesses, and foreign women, on suspicion of violating the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic. Four of them, including the ringleader, were detained.
A and others are accused of renting 25 officetels in the Suwon, Ansan, and Yongin areas from September last year to May this year to operate prostitution businesses.
According to police, A is a former organized crime member who was active around Suwon and, after serving a prison sentence for prostitution offenses and being released, was found to have drawn in middle school classmates and acquaintances to commit the crimes again.
They divided roles by region to secure officetel rooms, hired foreign women, and oversaw operations. They also were found to have run the scheme in an organized way by placing Deputy Ministers in charge of collecting prostitution payments and supplying supplies.
The ring posted nude photos of women on prostitution advertising sites and Telegram to recruit customers. It was found to have arranged prostitution for reserved customers, charging 100,000 to 370,000 won.
Police said they even set up a separate office in a building in a Suwon dwellings area, managed reservation calls in day and night shifts, and shared enforcement and customer information. To evade crackdowns, they frequently changed the business names and contact numbers, and some businesses were found to have moved rooms while operating.
Police launched the investigation after finding it suspicious that the same ads were repeatedly posted during a probe into prostitution advertising sites. After identifying officetel locations through CCTV analysis and communications investigations, they deployed a joint arrest team of more than 50 people from the police and immigration authorities to carry out sequential arrests.
Of the 14 foreign women arrested, 11 were confirmed to be undocumented and were handed over to immigration authorities. Police seized 130 million won in cash and 35 don of gold at the scene, and they also applied for pre-indictment confiscation and collection preservation for 1 billion won in criminal proceeds identified in the crime accounts.
A and others were found to have led lavish lives, buying imported cars with criminal proceeds or spending on entertainment.
Police shut down all of the businesses and notified the National Tax Service.