Neon signs light up a street in southeastern Seoul on Feb. 15, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — So-called “adult entertainment detectives,” who provide the service of tracking down men frequenting adult entertainment establishments, are starting to resurface after remaining out of the public eye for the past few years.
They work by receiving requests through Telegram, KakaoTalk’s open chat rooms and other social networking channels to look up entry databases used by sex trafficking businesses.
“Sex trafficking businesses require customer identification, the database of which is shared nationwide,” one of the advertisements said.
The “detectives’” have recently been regaining the spotlight after drawing attention for the first time back in 2018 when a website of the same name appeared online.
Online communities have been sharing experiences of hiring these detectives, as well as posts asking for recommendations of such detective agencies.
The number of searches for the word ‘adult entertainment detectives’ has jumped by more than 200 percent, according to South Korean search giant Naver Corp.
This, however, involves trading personal information, which is illegal. Also, the information they provide is often less than accurate, raising the risk of innocent victims.
“Sex trafficking is an illegal practice, but a private entity tracking down personal information, instead of a proper investigation agency, is also illegal,” a lawyer said on condition of anonymity.
The detectives who were in business in 2018 were found guilty of violating the Act on Information and Communications Network.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
