Couple forced homeless teen to prostitution

A passer-by stops in front of a brothel near Cheongnyangni Station in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. / Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan

A couple in their 20s has been jailed for forcing a homeless teenage girl into prostitution and sadistically punishing her when she refused.

Daegu District Court on Monday sentenced the couple to three years and six months jail on charges of forcing prostitution, intimidation and inflicting critical injuries.

The judges said the crime was “immoral and extremely grievous in its sadism,” causing the victim “indelible trauma.”

The court heard that the man, 25, and the woman, 21, met the girl in January after she ran away from home. They abused the girl for 16 days, forced her into prostitution 50 times and took the money she earned.

When the victim refused to offer sex services, the couple burned her with a cigarette and forced her to eat dog food mixed with their saliva.

On other occasions, they tied her hands with wire and beat her with a wooden rod.

“We decided to punish the criminals heavily to let the public know that the nation lacks social safety nets for young people on the streets being threatened by those with criminal purposes,” the court said.