Police officer indicted on bribery, sex trafficking charges

Prosecutors have launched on Friday a probe into allegations that a police officer accepted bribes from the owner of a brothel and selectively conducted raids on its rival brothels.

Uijeongbu prosecutors indicted the inspector on bribery, dereliction of duty, sex trafficking and other charges.

The corrupt inspector, 38, a member of the Goyang Police Station, is accused of operating the illegal brothel, disguised as a massage parlor, in partnership with a 39-year-old man. 

It is said the inspector ran his brothel operation inside a complex in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, from January to May last year.

The inspector reportedly accepted 2 million won ($1,868) every month from his business partner and in exchange agreed to look the other way from February to July the same year.

Police discovered that the inspector only cracked down on rival brothels. The business partner reportedly opened up the “massage parlor” by renting out the office space from a 39-year-old man.

When other police forces raided the brothel, the inspector and office space owner reportedly hid the brothel owner. Police found out that the office space owner also operated a brothel in Guri, Gyeonggi Province.

All three men have been indicted on charges of sex trafficking.

Prosecutors said they will increase the scope of investigation, citing the possibility of more policemen being involved in the selective raids.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)