In this blog post, we take an in-depth look at the issue of prostitution from various perspectives, including the legal and moral issues surrounding it, as well as the dignity of sex, self-determination, and social responsibility.
Recently, there has been a heated debate in South Korea over whether prostitution is legal or illegal due to a constitutional review of the Special Act on the Prevention of Prostitution. There is much controversy worldwide over the scope of prostitution, and the treatment of prostitution varies greatly, from countries with no regulations on prostitution to countries that impose the death penalty. In Korea, prostitution has traditionally been considered illegal, and both those who buy and sell sex are subject to punishment. However, this has been met with controversy, with some arguing that prostitution is a sexual act between consenting adults without exploitation or coercion, and that preventing it is a violation of individual rights. In response, I believe that sex should not be a commodity and that prostitution must be prevented, and I will explain why.
Fundamentally, sex should be valued as part of the process of giving birth to a new life. Sexual activity itself is an ethical issue that involves life and death, and it has a value that must be protected because it is considered noble in human consciousness. Therefore, sex and sexual relations should not be treated like objects. Looking at other existing laws, Article 65, Paragraph 2 of the Labor Standards Act states, “An employer shall not employ women who are not pregnant and are 18 years of age or older in work that is harmful to their health or dangerous to their pregnancy or childbirth.” As such, other laws also recognize the need to protect sex, and the buying and selling of sex is not in line with this and should not be allowed.
Furthermore, if prostitution is permitted, the nature of prostitution, which requires only a body, will attract people who want to make money in a short period of time. Since it is possible to earn money in a short period of time without any prior preparation, the prostitution industry will naturally grow. In Australia, for example, after prostitution was legalized in 1989, the number of red-light districts more than doubled in 10 years, and large companies with hundreds of sex workers emerged. The growth of the sex industry can cause various problems, the biggest of which is the emergence of a social perception that sex can be bought and sold.
This is undesirable because it extends the materialistic belief that money can buy anything to the realm of sex. These arguments are very moralistic, and it is difficult to answer each one when you dig deeper and ask why. For example, you could ask, “What problems arise when sex is viewed as a commodity in society?”
If materialism enters the realm of sex, in extreme cases, men may come to believe that they can have any woman they want as long as they have money, which I think would make the world a more miserable place.
When considering the morality of prostitution, some people may think that it is acceptable from a liberal standpoint because the buyer pays money and the seller consents, so there is no violation of autonomy or consent. However, this is wrong from two perspectives. One is that the agreement between the two parties is not made on an equal footing. Let’s look at an example. When choosing one of three actresses for the lead role, a male director says that he will choose the actress who has sex with him. At this point, one actress agrees to have sex and gets the lead role. Is this kind of coercion morally acceptable? I don’t think so. Prostitution is not much different from the above example. This is because prostitutes who are struggling to make a living through prostitution are socially vulnerable, while those who can afford to buy sex are socially powerful. Then, one may ask whether it is morally right for two economically equal men and women, that is, when an agreement is reached between two equal parties, to engage in prostitution.
This question is very valid because not all sex workers are desperate for money. However, I don’t think this is the case either. The second reason why prostitution is morally wrong is because mutual consent does not necessarily mean that it is acceptable. In Michael Sandel’s book, What Is Justice?, he gives an example of cannibalism that was committed with mutual consent.
To explain briefly, a person looked for someone willing to be eaten in a newspaper job advertisement, and someone responded. The cannibal killed his victim, cooked him, and ate him. The case went to trial, and the cannibal was sentenced to life imprisonment. Why was this person sentenced to life imprisonment? It is because murder is an act that violates human dignity, regardless of consent. Similarly, prostitution is also something that should not be done regardless of consent, as it uses women’s bodies as tools for the sexual gratification of others.
In addition, there are many other practical problems associated with prostitution. Sex is a tool for procreation, which is the most fundamental purpose of human beings, so prostitution always carries the risk of reproduction, i.e., pregnancy. No matter how careful contraception is, there is always a possibility of pregnancy, and the biggest problem with this is that both the buyers and sellers of sex are people who are not willing or prepared to take on the role and responsibility of potential parents. Taking such risks and engaging in sex trafficking irresponsibly for the sake of their own desires is tantamount to claiming irresponsible freedom, and is therefore reprehensible. The majority of people who engage in prostitution are capable of reproduction, and they are making the mistake of acting solely for the purpose of making money without considering these responsibilities.
Some opponents of prostitution argue that the Special Law on Prostitution should be abolished because it has been ineffective, citing the increase in the number of sex workers since its enactment. However, while this may be a reason to revise the Special Law on Sex Trade, it cannot be used as grounds for declaring the Special Law on Sex Trade unconstitutional. In Sweden, the rate of sex trade decreased after the law was enforced in a manner that punishes only the buyers, rather than both the buyers and sellers.
As such, prostitution is an issue that involves both moral and practical concerns. Considering that the institution of courtesans existed in the past and that prostitution continued to exist tacitly during the Japanese occupation and after liberation, it seems that it is not easy to prevent prostitution due to human nature. In the past, prostitution often involved the exploitation of women as slaves or the violation of their human rights, so it was necessary to prevent prostitution unconditionally from the perspective of protecting women’s human rights. However, with the recent changes in the nature of prostitution, there has been growing public interest in whether prostitution should be prevented. Considering the meaning of sex and the problems that arise when prostitution is permitted, I believe that prostitution should still not be permitted, but that the Special Law on Prostitution needs to be improved in order to improve the current situation.
As such, the issue of prostitution is not merely a legal controversy, but also involves deep moral and social issues. After comprehensively considering the various positions and arguments surrounding prostitution, I have come to the conclusion that it is not right to allow prostitution. In order to resolve this issue, it is necessary not only to improve the Special Law on Prostitution, but also to strengthen sex education and change social perceptions. Continuous social efforts and attention are essential to protect the dignity and ethics of sex.
