At 6:40 AM on the 23rd, after finishing early morning prayers, Mr. Kim was driving north along Western Avenue in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Near the Beverly Boulevard intersection, he spotted two Latino women in revealing clothing and heavy makeup loitering by the roadside. As his car stopped at a traffic light, one of the women approached his vehicle and discreetly offered prostitution services, mentioning a nearby motel. Shaken, Kim quickly drove off when the light changed. "If they're blatantly soliciting even someone my age, who’s well over 60, it’s clear how much prostitution must be going on overnight," he said, shaking his head.

The stretch of Western Avenue between 4th Street and Melrose has long been notorious for street prostitution. The northern section of Western Avenue is well-known as a hotspot for prostitutes and the men looking to solicit their services.

Despite strong complaints from residents and protests from parents of nearby elementary school students, the LAPD's efforts to crack down on prostitution remain sporadic, with no comprehensive solution in sight.

Brian O'Connor, the new captain of the Olympic Police Division, which oversees Koreatown, reportedly patrolled the area in an investigative vehicle on the 21st to assess the situation. However, his visit had little impact, as the prostitution activity continues unabated. Mr. Jang, who runs a small business in the area, lamented, "Late at night, you can see more Black and Latino women who appear to be prostitutes, and sometimes they even wander into the parking lots of businesses, affecting our operations."

One of the primary reasons for the persistence of this issue is the enactment of SB 357 last year, which repealed California’s previous law that allowed the prosecution of individuals loitering in public places for prostitution purposes. Under the new law, unless a customer explicitly pays a prostitute for services, it’s difficult to take legal action.

A more pressing concern is that Charles H. Kim Elementary School, which many Korean students attend, is located in the vicinity. One parent, Mrs. Choi, expressed her frustration, saying, "These women solicit not only throughout the night but even in the early morning hours when my child is heading to school. It's embarrassing when my child asks, 'What are those women doing?'"

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, prostitution has surged once again across Los Angeles, including Koreatown, leading to an increase in prostitution-related arrests. The number of arrests citywide rose from 2,214 in 2020 to 2,449 in 2022. Between January and October last year, a total of 1,707 prostitution-related arrests, including solicitation and pimping, were made across Los Angeles, including Koreatown.

Among different neighborhood councils, Van Nuys had the highest number of arrests with 366 cases, followed by the Wilshire-Koreatown area with 290. In Wilshire-Koreatown, the majority of arrests occurred along Western Avenue, north of Koreatown. The LAPD has urged residents to report suspected illegal prostitution activities to the Olympic Police Station at (213) 382-9102.

— Reported by Sehee Roh

<Sehee Roh>