Prostitution Involving a Minor | Assisting a Client Charged with Prostitution Involving a Minor to Conclude with Non-Prosecution

The client was in a state of great fear that the case might cause harm to personal information and the like.

The attorney, who has experience with numerous prostitution-related cases, explained the principle of confidentiality, reassured the client, and proceeded with a thorough consultation.

First, the client stated that, because the app used to call for the outcall massage itself allowed only adults to register, the client had no suspicion whatsoever that the other party might be a minor.

The client also explained the circumstances of the case, stating that although the client paid money and received a massage, the client was heavily intoxicated and fell asleep during the massage.

The attorney devised a defense strategy tailored to the client's situation in order to defend against punishment.

Prostitution refers to having a woman, in return for money, transfer the inviolability of her dignity and body, which are precious second only to life, and the rights pertaining thereto, in order to provide her body as a sexual instrument for a certain period of time.

Case law has viewed the sex purchaser as one who acquires physical control to do as he wishes with the woman's body for one-sided satisfaction and pleasure.

The types of prostitution are as follows.

-Full-time type: prostitution conducted at an establishment or specific location solely for the purpose of prostitution, such as red-light districts, glass rooms, inns, lodging houses, jjokbang rooms, shanty areas, and officetels
-Part-time type: a type in which prostitution is conducted as a secondary form while providing other legal services such as alcohol, coffee, haircuts, or massages
-Disguised type: disguised, illegal, variant prostitution establishments operated under registration as other beauty-related service businesses or other unclassified personal service businesses (free occupations)
-On-call type: prostitution conducted by going out to various specific locations solely for the purpose of prostitution, with the involvement of labor suppliers (introducers), bodobang operators, and the like
-Online: prostitution conducted through the internet, smartphones, or similar media

If a person has engaged in prostitution, they may be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine, minor fine, or petty fine of not more than 3 million won.

If a person arranges prostitution or similar acts as a business, or recruits persons to sell sex and receives compensation, they shall be subject to imprisonment for not more than seven years or a fine of not more than 70 million won.

However, in the case of prostitution with a minor, the person shall be subject to even more severe punishment under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse.

In the case of prostitution involving a minor, more severe punishment is imposed pursuant to the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse.

▶Purchaser of sex: imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 10 years, or a fine of not less than 20 million won and not more than 50 million won

▶Person arranging the sale of sex: imprisonment for a definite term of not less than 5 years (attempts are punishable)

▶Person providing a venue for prostitution: imprisonment for a definite term of not less than 7 years

▶Person arranging the purchase of sex: imprisonment for not more than 7 years, or a fine of not more than 50 million won

The prostitution specialist attorney argued that the client did not engage in any act of purchasing sex.

The client, who works in the sales team of a large corporation, tends to attend many work dinners due to the nature of the job.

On the day of the incident, the client also returned home late at night after drinks with a client, and feeling unusually stiff and tired that day, came to think of getting a massage.

The client called for an in-call massage through an app, transferred the massage fee by account transfer, and fell asleep while receiving a legitimate massage.

The attorney in charge emphasized that all the client did was call for an in-call massage and receive a massage because of severe fatigue, and that the client never engaged in any unlawful act of purchasing sex.

The client had no idea that the masseuse was a minor.

The application the client used could only be joined after adult verification, and it was an application that only adults could use.

In addition, at the time the masseuse also used advertising text introducing herself as being in her early twenties.

The prostitution specialist attorney requested leniency, emphasizing that the client had no idea at the time that the masseuse was a minor.

According to data from the National Police Agency, the number of cases of purchasing sex from children and youth detected over the past five years totaled 1,510.

The number of detected cases, which was 137 in 2020, increased to 571 in 2024.

As the number of detected cases of purchasing sex from minors increases, the likelihood that courts may impose more severe punishment is rising.

For this reason, if a person becomes involved in such a charge, it is important to respond promptly and strategically with the assistance of an experienced attorney from the early stages of the case.

At Daeryun LLC, attorneys experienced in numerous prostitution-related cases provide step-by-step assistance throughout all criminal proceedings.