By Yun Suh-young

A pimp was caught engaging in prostitution using popular mobile messenger service Kakao Talk to lure customers, police said Tuesday.

Daegu Nambu Police Station said it booked a 35-year-old surnamed Park without detention for soliciting customers through the mobile messaging service. Three female prostitutes and four men who paid for sex through Park were also booked for violating the Anti-Sex Trade Law.

Park had solicited prostitution since the beginning of May in southern Daegu after renting three one-room apartments to use as brothels. He received 120,000 won from each customer.

Park approached potential customers after obtaining the phone numbers of those who had paid for sex through another pimp and started a conversation through the mobile messenger service. The service allows a person to send a message even if one person knows the phone number and their counterpart doesn’t.

“After we caught Park, we found that he had been using Kakao Talk to solicit customers. There are probably more pimps doing the same thing,” said an officer from the police station.

Park ducked police by using the service. According to the officer, the mobile messenger service is difficult to track because the conversations are conducted one-to-one.
“It’s quite different from the Internet so it’s difficult to regulate those who use it,” said the officer.

Last March, police arrested five teenagers for approaching a man through the mobile messenger service to offer sex.