South Korea’s National Police Agency announced Sunday that it would be launching a “Korean Desk” in Cambodia to respond to a recent rise in job scams that have led to the kidnapping and torture of South Korean workers abroad. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo
South Korea’s National Police Agency announced Sunday that it would be launching a “Korean Desk” in Cambodia to respond to a recent rise in job scams that have led to the kidnapping and torture of South Korean workers abroad.
South Korean police said that acting Chief Yoo Jae-seong would meet with Cambodia’s high-ranking police officials in Seoul on the sidelines of the upcoming International Police Summit later this month, the Korean Herald reported.
The meeting, according to the Korean Times, is expected to include the signing of an agreement between the two countries that would allow for South Korea to deploy its police officers to Cambodia. South Korea has previously established police desks in the Philippines and Thailand.
On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun summoned Cambodian Ambassador Khuon Phon Rattanak to express his country’s concern over continued job scams and the detention of South Koreans in Cambodia, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a news release.
“Cho requested the Cambodian government to take more proactive measures to eradicate online scam sites and to actively promote cooperation between police authorities in both countries, including the establishment of a Korean Desk, to prevent damage to Korean citizens and respond quickly when damage occurs,” the ministry said.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry revealed that it has been strengthening its staff at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia to respond to such incidents and provide guidance to South Koreans seeking work in Cambodia.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry also announced Friday that it would issue a special travel advisory for South Koreans traveling to certain provinces in Cambodia after citizens have been “victimized by employment fraud and detention.” It asked South Koreans traveling to such provinces to cancel or postpone their travels.
South Korea is facing a surge in abductions of its citizens in Cambodia, where at least 330 cases have been reported as of August, up from 220 last year, according to data submitted to the National Assembly. Most incidents have been linked to transnational criminal syndicates running online job scams that lure young Koreans with promises of high salaries, only to detain them for ransom or forced labor once they arrive.
A recent high-profile case involved a 22-year-old South Korean university student found dead in Cambodia’s Kampot province in August. Cambodian police said he died of cardiac arrest with signs of torture found on his body. Three Chinese suspects were arrested, accused of luring him with a fake job offer and to a villa where he was beaten to death. In a separate case, a Korean man in his 50s was abducted and assaulted in Phnom Penh.
Police in the Gyeongsang province in South Korea announced Sunday that they had arrested suspected Korean members of the crime ring involved with the student’s alleged torture, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Investigators plan to question the suspects, who are accused of aiding in luring victims abroad.
Rep. Park Chan-dae, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said on his Facebook page Saturday that his office had helped the government and family members of two other victims in aiding in their rescue from Cambodia.
“While the recent Cambodia rescue operation was ultimately successful, it relied on the family’s desperation and the dedication of a few public officials,” he said. “This approach cannot prevent another tragedy at any time. Going forward, it must become a ‘system-driven rescue’ rather than a ‘lucky rescue.'”
In an interview he shared with the post, Park said his office had played a role in rescuing 14 Korean nationals from near Kampot in August, where a body discovered during the rescue operation was later identified as the Korean student.
In June, the human rights group Amnesty International determined that the Cambodian government has been “deliberately ignoring” human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labor and torture being carried out by criminal gangs. It had estimated that there were at least 53 scamming compounds in Cambodia.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned scam centers across Southeast Asia that the agency said stole $10 billion in 2024 from Americans via forced labor and violence.
