Thai prostitutes arrested in South Korea crackdown
SOUTH KOREAN police have alerted Thai police about a crackdown on prostitution rings on Thursday that resulted in the arrests of 48 Thai women and five prostitution brokers.
Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen, deputy police spokesman, said: “We are coordinating with police in South Korea to ask for more details about the raids on Thursday and find ways to help the women.”
According South Korean media reports, South Korean police records show that some 200 Thai women had been arrested in South Korea since the middle of last year for prostitution and illegally working in the country. Of that number, 40 are transvestites.
Some of the women entered South Korea as tourists after the brokers promised them jobs in massage parlours but were forced to work as prostitutes. Thai nationals require no visa to enter South Korea.
South Korea media reported that prostitution brokers had been apprehended in Seoul, Kyongkido and Chungchoeng since last year.
Of the 48 Thais arrested on Thursday, 12 had already been deported, Krissana said.
