Executives and representatives of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, known as Suhyup, in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, are suspected of having paid for sex in the Philippines.

According to Suhyup in Goheung on Tuesday, some 41 executives and representatives of the company went on a four-day training session in Manila last year in April.

Suspicions about some members having engaged in the solicitation of prostitution during the training period rose among the staff some months later. 

“Members did sing in the karaoke after dinner, but there were no incidents to arouse suspicions about prostitution,” commented Lee Hong-jae, president of Goheung Suhyup.

Meanwhile, recorded audio of a conversation apparently describing the scene was released through local media.

“There were a lot of women there. You can choose. We’ll move to another place if everyone has a partner. Give your name to the guide if you’d like to go, so he can collect fees,” one voice in the audio file says.

The incident has invoked outraged from the public, including women’s welfare groups in South Jeolla Province who held a demonstration in front of Goheung Suhyup on Tuesday. They presented a petition to Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency demanding an investigation and urged Suhyup to thoroughly look into the incident and take disciplinary actions.

The organization presented a petition Friday for a similar incident that involved Nonghyup at Hampyeong, Southern Jeolla Province. Some 15 people, including the union president, are under suspicion of buying sex overseas during training in Vietnam in January 2017.

By Kim Hye-soo (clairek@heraldcorp.com)