Two defectors leave a car, from a photo essay by Kim Jong Taek. Earlier this month, the body of a defector and known prostitute was found in a motel room in the city of Hwaseong, sparking debate regarding the treatment of North Koreans who come to the South.
The fact that the murderer already had 16 convictions incited outrage and renewed calls for greater use of the death penalty. Prostitution can be a common path for female defectors, experts cited in articles covering the incident said.
The women, who often need to repay smugglers who extract them from the North and guide them through China, can become easily recruited by other defectors who have themselves turned to prostitution. From Yonhap News :. The tragic story of a female defector strangled by one of her clients has recently emerged. The woman, who worked in a tea house, was delivering tea to a client when she was strangled. The manager of a motel in the city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province, found Ms.
Kim, age forty-five, in one of his rooms at p. The assailant has been identified as a Mr. Lee, who checked into a room at the motel at p.
According to the police, Lee was driven to strangle Ms. Kim after she rejected his request for a perverted sex act after he had paid her and they were engaged in sexual relations. Angered by the rejection, Lee suddenly attacked the woman and strangled her. Lee turned himself in on the 18th and admitted his crime.
