Police bust 'corporate-style' illegal massage parlors in Chuncheon with 10,000 cumulative visitors

Police have arrested the owners and employees of a network of illegal massage parlors in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, that operated as a large-scale prostitution brokering operation.

The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency said Thursday it had detained two business owners and booked 50 employees without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts.

The suspects are accused of running three massage parlors in central Chuncheon, including in the Toegye-dong area, from 2023 through early this year and brokering prostitution to an unspecified number of clients.

Police conducted search and seizure operations at all three establishments in March, uncovering evidence of the alleged activity.

The investigation found that the parlors had accumulated roughly 10,000 visitors over approximately three years. Among those who paid for sexual services were active-duty police officers, firefighters and other civil servants.

Police are continuing to investigate the full circumstances of the case, including questioning the owners and clients.