Erotic Massage in Seoul, South Korea

South Korea criminalises both selling and buying sex. The Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic, enacted with a companion victim-protection act in March 2004 and in force since 23 September 2004, bans sex trade, arranging it, trafficking for it and advertising it. Anyone who engages in sex trade faces up to one year's imprisonment, a fine of up to 3 million won, detention or a petty fine; people recognised as victims of sex trade are exempt. Arranging sex trade or providing premises carries up to 3 years (7 as a business), and advertising sex trade or venues up to 3 years, with separate offences for businesses that produce, publish or distribute such ads. The Constitutional Court upheld the penalty for both parties in 2016, six votes to three. A bill to stop punishing people who sell sex was introduced on 17 September 2026. Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/south-korea/, reviewed 2026-10-30, CC BY 4.0.