Man in his 50s claims, “I gave money, but it was not prostitution.” Prosecutor's decision to not indict

A man in his 50s who was suspected of engaging in prostitution with someone he met through an anonymous chat application was handed over to the prosecution, but was not indicted.

On December 31 last year, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, a man in his 50s, on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Acts such as Arranging Prostitution (Prostitution).

Mr. A was accused of using a smartphone chat application to meet a woman, B, and engage in prostitution in 2022. Mr. A completely denied the charges. He said that due to the nature of his job, he had to use his body a lot, so he just called a visiting masseuse to get a massage. At the same time, he emphasized that since the purpose was to receive a massage, he was not even interested in the massage therapist's personal information.

The police who received the case sent Mr. A to the case, believing that he was suspected of prostitution, but the prosecution decided that Mr. A was not guilty.

The prosecution said, "As a result of tracking the suspect's cell phone location at the time, the cell phone use history at the location where the incident occurred was not confirmed. The victim also stated that there were people who received money but did not meet, and there were people who met but did not have sexual intercourse, so it is difficult to distinguish," and said there was no evidence to admit that Mr. A engaged in prostitution.

Attorney Park Seong-yoon of the Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, "In order to charge a person with prostitution, evidence is needed that he had sexual intercourse and that money, lodging, etc. were provided in return for it. At the time of the incident, Mr. A fell asleep while receiving a massage after drinking alcohol and had no recollection of anything other than calling the masseuse."

He continued, “If Mr. A had intended to engage in illegal prostitution, he would have made a cash transaction so that no traces would be left behind.”
 

Reporter Hwang Jeong-won (jwhwang@mt.co.kr)

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Man in his 50s claims, "I gave money, but it was not prostitution"... Prosecution's 'non-indictment' decision (Shortcut)