Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SEOUL1035
2006-03-29 22:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Seoul
Cable title:  

U.S., CANADA, ROK ANTI-TIP GROUP RECONVENES

Tags:  PGOV CVIS PHUM KS KCRIM SMIG PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
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P 292258Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6987
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0401
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO CITY PRIORITY 0292
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 2117
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0485
RUEHVC/AMCONSUL VANCOUVER PRIORITY 0171
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001035 

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SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV CVIS PHUM KS KCRIM SMIG PREL
SUBJECT: U.S., CANADA, ROK ANTI-TIP GROUP RECONVENES

REF: 04 SEOUL 6235

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001035

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV CVIS PHUM KS KCRIM SMIG PREL
SUBJECT: U.S., CANADA, ROK ANTI-TIP GROUP RECONVENES

REF: 04 SEOUL 6235


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After a 16-month hiatus, the
ROK-U.S.-Canada Trilateral Working Group on anti-trafficking
issues (TWG) met on March 22 to discuss the trafficking of
women from Korea to the U.S. and elsewhere. While the group
recognized the cooperation among the Embassy and local police
to arrest visa brokers, the U.S. and Canada also noted that
the ROKG has not been as responsive to information received
on deported traffickers and trafficking victims. The ROKG
said it would consider taking additional measures to combat
outward trafficking and agreed to consider the establishment
of a separate division within the Ministry of Justice to
combat trafficking. Korea's desire to join the Visa Waiver
Program (VWP),arrests of Korean prostitutes in the U.S., and
personnel changes in the MOJ appear to have energized the
ROKG's interest in combating human trafficking to the U.S.
END SUMMARY.

BACKGROUND
--------------


2. (SBU) At Embassy Seoul's suggestion, the MOJ convened the
first TWG in November 2004 (Ref A). The purpose was to
establish a working group of U.S., ROK, and Canadian law
enforcement officials to focus on the problem of the
trans-Canada trafficking of Korean women to the United
States. The group agreed to meet quarterly to share
information. However, the MOJ failed to call another
meeting. After repeated requests to reconvene, including a
personal request by the Ambassador to Justice Minister Chun
Jung-bae on January 25 (Ref B),the MOJ finally convened
another TWG on March 22.

GILDED CAGE, TIP, AND VWP EFFECT
--------------


3. (SBU) Hwang Chul-kyu, Director of the International
Criminal Affairs Division of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ),
and his deputy, Prosecutor Jung Jong-wook, began the TWG
meeting with reference to the July 2005 U.S. law enforcement
operation known as "Gilded Cage," which, they said, jolted
the ROKG into awareness of the trafficking problem. (NOTE:
During the Gilded Cage Operation, U.S. law enforcement
officials seized USD 2 million, arrested nearly 100 Korean
nationals, and repatriated some of the hundreds of Korean

women who were victims of the traffickers. END NOTE.). The
MOJ officials, who were aware that the State Department was
currently drafting the 2006 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
Report, expressed concern that the Gilded Cage operation
could have a negative impact on the 2006 report. However,
Hwang and Jung expressed hope that the working group meeting
would begin a serious dialogue to maintain Korea's Tier 1
status. The MOJ officials referred to the ROK's interest in
qualifying for the VWP as another impetus to host the working
group meeting. Jung explained that the ROKG recognized the
need for Korean and U.S. law enforcement officials to
cooperate more closely if Korea hoped to qualify for the VWP.


4. (SBU) Hong Jee-pio, MOFAT Deputy Director of Consular
Services added that MOFAT had taken the lead in an
interagency campaign to improve the image of Korea, which
involved combating human trafficking and prostitution abroad.
The new media and public relations effort is called the
"Ugly Korea Prevention Campaign." Hong emphasized that VWP
was a top priority, and like his MOJ colleagues, also
recognized the VWP's legal requirement for more law
enforcement collaboration.

NEED TO MEET MORE OFTEN
--------------


5. (SBU) Poloff expressed gratitude for MOJ's action in
reconvening the working group, but also concern over the
16-month gap in meetings. During the 2004 inaugural session,
participants had agreed to quarterly meetings (Ref A). Jung
clarified that the current working group meeting was called
to prepare for a senior level meeting to be scheduled for
April. At that meeting, Jung said, they would discuss the
possibility of holding regular trilateral meetings.

CANADIAN CONCERNS
--------------


SEOUL 00001035 002 OF 003



6. (SBU) Canada Immigration Officer John Acheson described
Mexico as another transit point for traffickers. Acheson
commented that he had overheard Koreans who were deported
from Canada remark, "Okay, I'll try Mexico instead."
Although 300 Koreans were denied admission to or deported
from Canada last year, Acheson made clear that not all these
cases were directly related to the sex trade. Additionally,
Acheson complained about the poor response from ROK law
enforcement. Although Canadian officials regularly advised
the ROKG on deportations, little action was taken in Korea.
Acheson said he knew of only one case where a deportee was
met at the airport by Korean police on the basis of
information supplied by Canadian authorities.

PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE: VISA BROKERS
--------------


7. (SBU) Kim Dae-hyun, Prosecutor in the Foreign Affairs
Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office,
emphasized that the U.S. Embassy remained the main route of
access for traffickers and that every effort would be put
forward to crack down on brokers who supplied fraudulent
documents to visa applicants. Effective elimination of the
trafficking problem, Kim insisted, was contingent on
identifying and punishing the visa brokers. Jung added that
in February 2006 the ROKG asked for more investigation and
prosecution of visa brokers, and was currently reviewing
whether the visa brokers should be charged for fraud or under
a more severe statute of the Korean penal code. Bae
Young-won, Researcher at Korea's Supreme Public Prosecutor's
Office, confirmed that the Korean National Police (KNP) was
carrying out the crackdown order against visa brokers around
the U.S. Embassy.


8. (SBU) Conoff highlighted the excellent cooperation the
Embassy had received in investigating visa brokers and
praised Korean police agencies in their efforts to pursue
them. The Embassy's Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU),Conoff
explained, regularly shared with the KNP information on
fraudulent visa applicants by providing descriptions,
addresses, and contact information to the police.

ROK WANTS BETTER INFO FASTER
--------------


9. (SBU) Both Yoon Jae-pil, Prosecutor in the Drug Related
Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's
Office, and Kim urged the need for more detailed information
on deportees. When traffickers or their victims returned to
their homes in Korea, they often changed their contact
numbers and with Korea's strict privacy laws, this
effectively ended the investigation. Cho Woo-suk, Section
Chief of the Immigration Division in the MOJ, further
explained that the ROK had no legal authority to investigate
groups that had been deported simply due to suspicion, or
were arrested under foreign laws and therefore not subject to
Korean legal jurisdiction. A list of Korean deportee names,
Cho added, was not as useful as more detailed information
about the individuals provided in advance. For example, Kim
explained, for Korean law enforcement to pursue an
investigation they would need ample proof that the
individuals arrested in the U.S. used fraudulently obtained
Korean documents. Kim added that the sex trade was a
systemic problem in the U.S., and his offices would like to
obtain more information on U.S. sex rings. Jung stressed the
urgent need for relevant authorities to share information and
suggested establishing a system of collaboration and
communication among key officers.


10. (SBU) Hong reminded U.S. and Canadian working group
participants to encourage their respective law enforcement
officials to inform the ROK Embassy and its consulates
promptly when ROK citizens were involved directly or
indirectly with human trafficking and the sex trade. ROK
consuls, Hong explained, could then interview them before
they are deported.

SUGGESTION TO ESTABLISH A NEW ROK ANTI-TRAFFICKING DIVISION
-------------- --------------


11. (SBU) Poloff suggested creating a specific division
within the Supreme Prosecutor's Office to liaise with and
share information. Poloff pointed out that Jung's plan for a
systematic approach and contact points was the same solution

SEOUL 00001035 003 OF 003


agreed upon during the November 2004 meeting. However,
despite both U.S. and Canadian officials having sent the ROK
photos, large files, and other information since that time,
there was little evidence of follow-up from the ROK
authorities. Poloff suggested that a better approach would
be to create a new division that would be responsible for
communicating with other nations' law enforcement officials
and pursuing joint investigations on international
trafficking cases. Creating a new division was the same
approach, Poloff remarked, that had succeeded for the ROKG in
efforts to protect intellectual property rights.


12. (SBU) Jung admitted that there was no one section of the
ROKG dedicated to combating human trafficking, and that the
effort was divided among several offices. The SPO's Bae
expressed a willingness to review Poloff's suggestion to
establish a new office. Jung stated that the ROKG already
has a plan to set up a special investigative task force
dedicated to the enforcement of anti-trafficking, but would
also take the idea under consideration.

PARTICIPANTS
--------------


13. (U) Participants of the TWG's meeting in Seoul included
the following Korean representatives: Director Hwang
Chul-kyu, International Criminal Affairs Division, MOJ;
Prosecutor Jung Jong-wook, International Criminal Affairs
Division, MOJ; Section Chief Cho Woo-suk, Immigration and
Immigration Policy Division, MOJ; Hong Jee-pio, MOFAT; Bae
Young-won, Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office; Prosecutor
Yoon Jae-pil, Drug Related Crime Division, Seoul Central
District Prosecutor's Office (SCDPO); Prosecutor Kim
Dae-hyun, Foreign Affairs Division, (SCDPO); Officer Bae
Sung-in, Criminal Affairs Division, Korean National Police.
John Acheson, Immigration Office, represented the Canadian
Embassy. Embassy participants included Poloff, Conoff, FBI
Attache Dennis Kim, DHS ICE Attache Kyung Yul Steven Kim.

COMMENT
--------------


14. (SBU) After 16 months, the meeting and subsequent
discussion among the three countries' representatives was a
positive development. The Ambassador's conversation with
Minister Chun Jung-bae (Ref B),Operation Gilded Cage, and
the prospects of inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program clearly
played a part in the reconvening of the TWG. In addition,
Prosecutors Hong and Jung both started their jobs one month
ago and seem to be bringing with them a fresh seriousness of
purpose. Although Embassy participants would have liked to
have seen more concrete results, or at least a commitment to
meet on a more regular basis, we hope to hear soon of further
progress in the ROK's commitment to combat international
trafficking in persons. END COMMENT.
MINTON