South Korea’s National Police Agency (KPNA) has announced an emergency plan to repatriate 63 South Korean nationals currently detained in Cambodia within one month, following an alert from Interpol.
According to the Chosun Daily, the move comes as part of South Korea’s response to a surge in cross-border cybercrime targeting its citizens. Many of the detainees are believed to have been lured to Cambodia through fake job offers circulated on social media platforms such as Telegram, promising high-paying overseas work but leading them instead into online scam operations.
A senior South Korean national security adviser told reporters that at least 1,000 South Koreans are thought to be working in illegal online operations in Cambodia.
On October 14, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that around 80 South Koreans, identified as victims of cyber fraud, remain missing in Cambodia. The two governments have agreed to establish a joint task force to investigate and dismantle these networks.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior issued a statement on Tuesday outlining progress in the investigation into the recent murder of South Korean student Park Minho in Kampot province. The Kampot Provincial Court has charged three suspects with aggravated murder and cyber fraud, and Cambodian authorities have requested a meeting with South Korea’s embassy in Phnom Penh to provide a full briefing on the case.
Earlier, on October 11, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that President Lee Jae Myung had ordered the Foreign Ministry to take all necessary diplomatic measures to respond to a wave of crimes committed against South Koreans in Cambodia.
The developments have drawn wider international attention. Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced Bill H.R. 5490, which would create an interagency task force to combat transnational crime networks operating in Cambodia and across Southeast Asia. The proposed law cites large-scale online fraud operations in Cambodia that have victimized both American and South Korean citizens.
The planned repatriation marks a significant step by Seoul amid growing calls for regional cooperation to dismantle human trafficking and cyber-scam networks that have expanded rapidly across Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.
