By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Owners of bars, brothels and other places of entertainment were found to have paid nearly 3 million won ($2,000) in bribes on average last year to individual police officers, a report showed.

The report came as the police plan to transfer up to 600 officers from Gangnam to other areas following allegations that a dozen officers in the region in southern Seoul regularly took bribes from massage parlor owners.

According to the National Police Agency (NPA) Thursday, owners of entertainment establishments paid an average 2.7 million won to each police officer in charge of cracking down on the illegal businesses last year.

The NPA conducted the survey on 2,390 officers and citizens visiting civil affairs offices at 60 police stations nationwide last July in order to inspect officers' integrity.

Among all police officers in all investigative fields, those cracking down on entertainment establishments were the most corrupt ― bar and massage parlor owners rated their integrity at 49.9 out of 100. The figure is far below the average of all police officers at 83, and a decrease from 61 in 2007 and 68 in 2006.

The bribes they allegedly paid to such officers last year more than doubled from 2007's 1.1 million won.

The amount was also much higher than bribes given to officers who are supposed to crack down on other illegalities ― 686,000 won on average to those targeting drunken or unlicensed driving; 321,000 won to those investigating traffic accidents; and 230,000 won to those granting permission for firearm possession.

The survey did not include three police stations in the Gangnam region ― Gangnam, Seocho and Suseo ― where entertainment establishments thrive and some officers allegedly receive bribe regularly. As for the reason for the exclusion, the NPA said they picked the top 60 stations that had the largest number of officers involved in irregularities for the year before the survey.

Late last month, it was alleged that a dozen officers from Gangnam Police Station took money from massage parlor owners. A female owner of a massage parlor in Nonhyeon-dong, identified as Nam, allegedly gave tens of millions of won to an officer. She also claimed she'd offered a total of 22 million won to another two to three officers over two years since May 2006.

Police will take legal action against about five officers confirmed, to have accepted bribes and are investigating claims that some officers had stakes in red-light businesses.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will transfer officers from the three stations to regions other than Gangnam by early April.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr