Growing numbers of illegal aliens engaging in prostitution

The influx of illegal aliens, which declined previously due to the IMF crisis, has been rising since last year. As many of the illegal aliens are working in the prostitution industry, urgent countermeasures for the trend are needed.

According to a report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that will be submitted to the Committee of Experts on Transnational Crimes at the ASEAN Regional Forum slated for Oct. 30 and 31, there were 148,048 illegal aliens in South Korea in 1997. This number dropped to 99,537 in 1998 due to the IMF crisis. Last year, however, the number rose to 135,338 and had surged to 172,501 by August this year.

A source in the government revealed that the high number of illegal aliens prior to the IMF crisis was mostly due to the illegal employment of those who arrived through industrial trainee programs. However, after the IMF, the number of illegal aliens working as hostess girls or in other prostitution-related activities has been on the rise.

The rate of increase in the number of illegal aliens compared to last year reached 36.0%. However, the increase in illegal employment of those in trainee programs recorded a mere 6.7%. As of August this year, the total rate of increase recorded 27.5% while those from the trainee programs recorded 24.3%.

By nationality, the greatest number of illegal aliens came from Bangladesh at 13,774, while illegal aliens from Thailand marked the greatest increase of 65.0%, from 6,853 last year to 11,309 this year. Russians recorded 861 in 1998, then dropped to 781 in 1999. As of August this year, their number has increased rapidly and stands at 1,131.

The Committee of Experts on Transnational Crimes is scheduled to review all reports on illegal aliens and immigration from the 23 members of the ARF and formulate countermeasures.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com