Two individuals have been arrested by the police on suspicion of luring two teenage girls from a Han River park to an adult entertainment establishment they operate and forcing them into prostitution.
On May 1, the Osan Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that it had applied for arrest warrants against two people in their 40s. The suspects will be charged with rape and intermediation under the law for the protection of children and adolescents.
The parents of one of the teenage girls reported her missing to the police when she did not return home after going to school on April 17. Both girls are middle school students born in 2010. It was particularly noted that one of them has been diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability.
According to police investigations, the suspects allegedly sexually assaulted and forced the teenage girls, along with other young girls into prostitution at the adult entertainment establishment they jointly operate from April 18 to May 5.
The suspects lured the girls by promising them part-time jobs when they met them at a Han River park in Yeouido on April 18. Afterward, the suspects committed sexual crimes against the girls at adult entertainment establishments located in Seoul and Osan.
One of the victims explained, “I met a man in his 40s at Han River Park in Yeouido. He handed us alcohol and cigarettes and asked, ‘What are you girls doing here?’ Around 2 AM on April 18, he said, ‘I have a karaoke bar I run. Want to check it out?’ We thought it was a coin karaoke, but there was a VIP room.”
The victim continued, “One of the men asked us to fill in for the ladies. We didn’t know what the ladies did but went in anyway. It was a job where we had to cater to the men and pour their drinks.”
The girls were made to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes at the adult entertainment establishment while also being forced into sexual intercourse. The victim continued, “(One of the men told me) that to live life, you need to try everything, including alcohol and cigarettes. He promised to give me $90 if I took a shot of soju and $9 for a soju bomb (soju mixed with beer). He kept trying to touch me and I didn’t want to be touched, but I was forced into sexual intercourse. I felt so dirty that I showered immediately afterward.”
It was revealed that one of the suspects threatened the girls by saying, “If you don’t listen, I’ll send you to China. Even if you lose your limbs and die there, no one will know,” and “I’ll sell you to a bar.”
The teenage girls along with other victims were returned to their families on May 5 after staying at the residence of an acquaintance of one of the suspects and finally contacting their parents.
One of the suspects claimed, “The girls lied about their age and followed me because they couldn’t get in touch with their parents,” and insisted that he only found out they were minors later.
He also claimed that he was merely protecting children who had been victims of domestic violence.
While the police have made an emergency arrest of the main suspects and applied for arrest warrants, they are investigating the detailed circumstances of the incident.
