The number of those offered “john school” after being convicted of buying sex is increasing every year, a report showed on Sunday.

In a report from the Justice Ministry submitted to the National Assembly, a total of 99,958 were sent to the john school program as an alternative to criminal prosecution from 2005 to August last year.

The figure has risen dramatically over the past five years, from 2,297 in 2005 to 11,775 in 2006, 16,379 in 2007, 19,811 in 2008 and 37,477 in 2009.

The program is a type of educational intervention aimed at helping prevent johns from repeating these offenses.

By profession, office workers took up the largest portion of those who took part in the rehabilitation program.

Noteworthy is that those with high-income professions such as doctors and lawyers amounted to 13 percent of attendees in 2006. That rate later skyrocketed to 29.5 percent in 2008.

Aimed at rooting out the rampant sex trade here, the government implemented the Special Law on Sex Trade in 2004. Brothels in red-light districts were shut down and millions of pimps and prostitutes were forced to quit working.

However, the nation’s sex trade has shown no sign of a recession with new, clever types of prostitution. These include barbershops and massage parlors that employ prostitutes, taking advantage of legal loopholes.

(Herald Online)
Edited by Rob York