Webpages promoting Offibangs can easily be found by searching the keywords on Google [Webpage capture]
A sex scandal involving a senior judge triggered has fueled public anger as he was South Korea's first sitting judge to get caught buying sex from a prostitutor.
The presiding judge at the Office of Court Administration was caught in the act when police raided an Offibang , a form of prostitution selling sex in studio flats in residential areas, in southern Seoul.
When questioned, the 45-year-old insisted he was jobless. But he later disclosed his vocation under pressure, admitting he was drunk and visited the Offibang alone after picking up a leaflet scattered in the streets. The judge was not detained but should stand trial because prostitution is illegal in South Korea.
Online users voiced anger and disappointment. "Being a presiding judge when he's 45 means that he is an elite," said "JejuJagay", a user from an online community DDanzi. "It is very disappointing to see a person breaking a law when he is the one who strictly follows it."
"CatchThe Chicken", another user, said: "The authorities should enforce brutal punishment for public figures breaking the law."
Since a special anti-prostitution law took effect in 2004 to wipe out red-light districts, prostitutors have employed an expedient to lure clients. Offibang has flourished despite steady crackdowns.
South Korean authorities take Offibangs very seriously since they are located in residential areas and provide easy access to anyone who is determined to buy sex. Contact numbers can be obtained through Googling or leaflets strewn across the streets of entertainment districts.
In a crackdown last year in Sejong, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of Seoul, police arrested an Offibang operator and seized a list of clients that included the names of many government officials.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
