“Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.”(Exodus 21:16,NIV)
For the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.(1 Timothy 1:10,NIV)
The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of threat, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation.” Human trafficking is the third largest criminal activity in the world, generating an estimated annual market value of 150 billion dollars.
In 2021, Korea enacted the Act on the Prevention of Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking. Unlike Article 289 of the Criminal Act, which narrowly defines trafficking as the buying and selling of people, this law explicitly includes acts committed for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, forced labor, and organ harvesting, in line with international norms. According to the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report, which evaluates and ranks the anti-trafficking efforts of governments around the world, Korea was initially placed in Tier 3 in 2001 and then escalated
to Tier 1 in 2002, a status it has maintained ever since.
Nevertheless, the East Asian nation has been identified in multiple roles: as a source country, where individuals have been trafficked abroad; as a transit country, where victims have been routed through Korea en route to other nations; and as a destination country, where trafficking occurs within its borders. The 2021 report states that both Korean nationals and foreign men and women from Asia, the Middle East, and South America have been subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking within Korea. Women who migrate through international marriages to Korean men are also particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and forced labor.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that an estimated 25 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking, with many forced into commercial sex acts. Millions of children are among the targets. He highlighted that trafficking is an affront to human rights and human dignity. Blinken further explained that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated vulnerabilities, pushing disadvantaged populations into greater risk of trafficking and exploitation. Traffickers also exploited the rise in internet use caused by online schooling and remote work to recruit victims.
》Prayer Point
1. Let us pray that people, created by God, would respect and value one another. Let us ask that the United Nations, national governments, and social organizations work together actively to eradicate human trafficking, where people are bought and sold for profit. Let us pray that all victims would be rescued, protected, and restored.
》Scripture Prayer
Philemon 1:7–16, 20–21 (NIV)
7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. 8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
Leviticus 25:39–43 (NIV)
39 If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. 40 They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Let us pray for the complete end of human trafficking around the world. May every nation take responsibility to protect its citizens by enacting strict laws, and may countries unite in eradicating trafficking, which treats life as a commodity to be bought, sold, exploited, abused, and destroyed.
2. Human trafficking, where people were enslaved, bought and sold, exploited, and even driven to death, has existed throughout history. Let us begin by repenting of such greed that treats people in this way. Let us pray that those who are still bound as slaves in our time would be set free, and that they may believe the gospel and experience true freedom in the truth.
3. The Apostle Paul urged Philemon to forgive Onesimus, his runaway slave, and to receive him back as a brother in Christ. In the same way, let us resolve to proclaim the gospel that makes every soul one family in the Lord, setting one another free in love. Let us also pray that all those who are still oppressed and trapped in human trafficking today would be saved, and that the Church would continue to pray without ceasing until they receive the life and freedom of Christ.
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