Brothel owners vow to evacuate if redevelopment is conducted

About 200 brothel owners pledged Tuesday to end their operations and discharge prostitutes if the government promises to redevelop their business areas.

The owners, mostly from five dense red-light districts in Seoul, said in a statement that they they will evacuate their establishments if the government draws up a redevelopment project for the areas and offers them "proportionate" financial compensation. High, if not lucrative, compensations are often promised when a downtown Seoul area is set for redevelopment.

A tough anti-prostitution law was enacted in 2004 in South Korea, enforcing heavy penalties for those found guilty of practicing the sex trade, but the business remains intact and even active underground.

Decrying the anti-prostitution law, the owners said the crackdown has led to a 50-percent decrease in their profits.

"We'll hold a press conference tomorrow and call on the government to accept our offer," Kang Hyeon-jun, the chief organizer, said.

Kang said the owners will put aside 10 percent of what their employees earn a month so it can be returned as discharge allowances after the brothels are shut down in two to three years, a period which they expect it would take before the redevelopment.

"Absurd," said Kim Geun-ok, an activist with the Korea Women's Associations United. "Prostitution is illegal in Korea, and for them to demand compensations for what is illegal doesn't make sense."

She said the laid-off prostitutes would nevertheless continue with their business, going underground after the evacuation.

Yoo Sam-sul, an official at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, said redevelopment projects are only subject to government criteria.

"We can't do it just because they demand it. We have our own specific rules and legal guidelines in deciding which area is to be developed," he told Yonhap.

Seoul, Jan 2. (Yonhap News)