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A court has ruled that a police sting operation in which officers posed as customers at a massage parlor constituted a lawful investigation.
The Supreme Court's First Division, presided over by Justice Cheon Dae-yeop, upheld a lower court ruling sentencing a 38-year-old foreign national, identified only as A, to a fine of 1 million won (about $662) on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts.
A was indicted on charges of operating a massage parlor in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, between June and July 2022, and directing an undercover police officer — posing as a customer — to a massage package that included sexual services.
When the officer used a specific term for a sexual act and asked whether it was included for 80,000 won, A nodded, explained the available packages and sent an employee into the room.
The trial court acquitted A, finding it difficult to conclude that A, a foreign national, had clearly understood the officer's gestures and the terminology used.
The appellate court reached a different conclusion. It found that A had lived in South Korea for more than 15 years and had communicated fluently throughout the investigation without an interpreter, and determined that A had understood what the officer said and was capable of arranging commercial sex.
A also argued that police had conducted an illegal entrapment operation, but the court rejected that claim. The appellate court cited the legal principle that merely providing an opportunity to commit a crime to someone who already harbored criminal intent does not constitute unlawful entrapment.
The court found that A had not been coerced into arranging the transaction by persistent pressure from the officer.
The court added that businesses suspected of facilitating illegal sexual conduct operate covertly, and that those involved share a common interest in concealing evidence, making proof difficult to gather. It said that an investigator entering such premises under the guise of a customer alone could not be considered an unlawful investigation.
The Supreme Court dismissed A's final appeal and affirmed the ruling, finding no logical or evidentiary errors in the lower court's judgment and no misapplication of the law on either the commercial sex act violations or the entrapment doctrine.
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