Police said a 47-year-old woman identified by her surname Lee was active in the business locally before a special law to crack down on prostitution was announced last March, when she turned to overseas markets. Lee and her accomplices placed 38 Korean women in massage parlors in visa-free countries like New Zealand and Australia.

Lee would lend between W20 million and W40 million to the women, repayable at 60 percent interest a year. The brokers forced the women to sign virtual slave contracts fining them US$500 if they stayed out overnight and told them to pay back the money before they thought of returning to Korea. If the women wanted to quit, they had to get permission from the brokers and were fined $5,000. They were responsible for their own healthcare.

Lee and accomplices cashed in at both ends, receiving W120 million from New Zealand and Australian brothel operators.

But when the gang applied for U.S visas with fake employment certificates to expand their operations to North America, the U.S Embassy reported them to Korean police.

Police said Lee and colleagues had earned W960 million by placing 67 women in bars and brothels in Seoul, Chonan and Bucheon before the anti-prostitution law was announced.

Seoul police arrested Lee and another broker and booked another five accomplices.

(englishnews@chosun.com )