April Update from the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women

On April 4, as spring finally arrived after a long winter, President Yoon Suk-yeol was dismissed from office. Yet our work toward a society free from prostitution is far from over. April was a month of urgent action: we launched a Joint Action Committee to demand comprehensive support measures for women in the Mia-ri prostitution district and continued calling on the state to fulfill its responsibilities.

A “prostitution district” refers to a concentrated area of businesses that have openly operated for the explicit purpose of prostitution over many years. These zones were effectively state-condoned brothel districts, created solely for the sale of sex and allowed to exist under the government’s tacit approval. Among them, the Mia-ri district, which emerged in the late 1960s, became infamous as the largest prostitution district in South Korea.

The state bears direct responsibility for having condoned, neglected, and enabled the exploitation of women in Mia-ri for decades. As of 2025, the closure of the Mia-ri prostitution district is finally becoming a reality. However, no meaningful support measures have yet been provided for the women who remain there.

In response, the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women is demanding that the national government, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Seongbuk District take full responsibility in developing real, sustainable support and livelihood measures for prostituted women in the Mia-ri district.

We ask for your continued attention and solidarity as we move forward.