"Dismantling a Prostitution District"... Yeongdeungpo District Chief Featured in Japanese Newspaper and on Yahoo Japan's Homepage

All-out effort to clear the prostitution district, including CCTV installations and sharing investigative materials

Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, said on October 16 that an interview with District Chief Jo Yujin about efforts to eliminate the prostitution district in front of Yeongdeungpo Station was published in Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun on October 15 and featured on the main page of Yahoo Japan, the country’s largest portal site, where it received 280 comments in just five hours.

District chief Jo Yujin on the main page of Yahoo Japan's international news section. Provided by Yeongdeungpo-gu.

The district said the article focused on its efforts to clear the prostitution district. It reported that Yeongdeungpo-gu was stepping up enforcement in cooperation with the police and other relevant agencies, and accelerating the dismantling of the district, including by beginning demolition of some buildings. It also noted that most of Seoul’s major prostitution districts, including “Miari Texas” in Seongbuk-gu, which once had more than 300 establishments, had been shut down, and that Yeongdeungpo-gu had begun addressing the last remaining district.

To prevent crime, the district installed three additional closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in back alleys near Times Square. It also replaced 10 of the 21 security lights in major alleys with 100-watt lights. In June, in response to a police request for investigative materials, the district provided police with land registry records for certain lot numbers, a list of redevelopment association members, and maps showing the designation of the redevelopment area.

In the interview, District Chief Jo said, “With human rights and welfare as our top priorities, we will do everything we can to support women leaving prostitution so they can successfully establish themselves in society through vocational training and other means.”

The district said Japanese users who read the article responded with comments such as, “The effort to eliminate an illegal prostitution district deserves recognition,” and, “Prostitution and the vested interests surrounding it are also deeply rooted in Japan, making it difficult to eradicate.”

A district official said, “This coverage reflects the international attention being paid to the district’s efforts to eliminate illegal activity around Yeongdeungpo Station and transform the urban environment. We will mobilize all the authority granted to the district office to resolve the problem of the prostitution district.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.