“Fluent in five languages, no baldness, no family diseases, healthy physically and mentally, actively engaged in aerobics, a straight edge, 173cm tall, weighs 65kg. Please call if you are interested.”
This is one of the common postings netizens are likely to see popup when they type in “daeribu” or surrogate in Korean search engines. As this statement indicates, a prospective donor is willing to offer his sperm to infertile couples. But this practice along with surrogate motherhood - is outlawed in Korea.
Some postings even state “sperms can be offered free of charge (depending on the customers),”possibly attempting to lure women for sex.
A lawmaker raised the issue about the rampant illegal trade of sperm on the Internet at the inspection of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee.
Rep. Kang Ki-yoon of the ruling Saennuri Party claimed that more than 29 instances of engaging in the outlawed practice, with offers being rampant on search engines Naver and Daum.
“Infertile couples attempted to make deals with men and surrogate and mothers in person or through brokers,” Kang said. “Sperm and eggs are traded for between 2 to 6 million won and surrogate mothers are arranged for between 40 million to 50 million won.”
The current law stipulates that sperms and eggs should neither be offered nor used in return for any form of financial or material gain.
As a result, if an embryo is obtained from an egg of a surrogate mother or a man offers sperms through sex or collection, this constitutes a criminal violation of existing statutes, the lawmaker said.
However, if an egg of a female is fertilized outsized the body and implanted into the womb of the mother, then it does not amount to contravening the current law.
“Police are continuously pulling down online adverts for sperm and egg providers to parents. We expect that intensified surveillance will help crack down on brokers as well.”