Seoul sends team to Cambodia over rising crimes against Koreans

South Korea will dispatch a response team to Cambodia to tackle crimes targeting South Koreans amid rising cases of job scams following the torture and death of a college student that shocked the nation, according to the presidential office on Tuesday.

According to Yonhap news agency, the decision came after President Lee Jae Myung instructed ministries during a Cabinet meeting to mobilize “all available resources” to help South Korean nationals kidnapped in Cambodia return home safely.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na will lead the delegation departing Wednesday, accompanied by officials from the National Police Agency (NPA) and the National Intelligence Service, presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon told reporters.

Park Sung-joo, head of the NPA’s National Office of Investigation, will also join the mission to coordinate with Cambodian authorities on the repatriation of detained South Koreans and discuss a joint investigation into the student’s death.

Yonhap reported that South Korea and Cambodia have agreed to form a joint task force involving their investigative agencies to address the growing number of scam-related crimes.

Meanwhile 80 South Koreans who were possible victims of fake jobs or scam centres were unaccounted for in Cambodia, South Korea's foreign ministry told AFP Tuesday, after the torture death of a student there shocked the country.

Between January and August this year, 330 South Koreans were reported to have gone missing or been held against their will after entering Cambodia, a foreign ministry official said.

As of August, "the safety of about 80 people has yet to be verified", the official added.

The ministry said it was cross-checking the figures with police data at home to avoid overlap.

The number of abduction cases involving South Koreans in Cambodia has surged dramatically, rising fifteenfold from 2023, lawmaker Yoon Hu-duk said during a parliamentary hearing.

As of Tuesday, 63 South Koreans were being held by Cambodian authorities, Kim said.

The Seoul government plans to work with Phnom Penh to dispatch a special flight for their repatriation. Those returning will face investigation at home for possible involvement in criminal activities.

When asked what measures would be taken if detainees refuse to return, Kim said the government’s stance was clear, it intends to bring back all of its citizens.

During the Cabinet meeting, the NPA also outlined plans to create an international cooperation body to coordinate joint operations against kidnapping and confinement cases involving South Koreans across Southeast Asia.

To prevent further incidents, Seoul is considering raising the travel advisory level for high-risk areas in Cambodia, reinforcing police personnel at its embassy in Phnom Penh, and expanding international cooperation capabilities, Kim added.

President Lee further called for increased staffing and budgets at South Korean embassies abroad to ensure timely assistance for citizens in crisis.

Seoul has been in talks with Phnom Penh to expand the number of police officers at its embassy — currently limited to one officer and two assistants — and to set up a “Korean Desk” within the Cambodian national police to handle cases involving Korean nationals.

Kim said, however, that Cambodia has not yet responded to the request.