Cambodian authorities are coordinating with the South Korean embassy to provide direct briefings and legal documents regarding the death of South Korean student Park Minho, who was reportedly targeted in an online scam operation in Cambodia.
The Ministry of Interior stated on October 13, detailing the results of its investigation into the killing. The Kampot provincial court has formally charged three suspects with murder and technology-assisted fraud in connection with the case.
According to the statement, on August 8, Cambodian law enforcement detained two Chinese nationals after discovering Park Minho’s body inside a vehicle in Kampong Bay Khang Tboung village, Kampong Bay commune, Kampot city. A third suspect escaped. Preliminary forensic analysis indicated that Park Minho, aged 22, died from cardiac arrest caused by physical abuse, with multiple bruises found on his body. The body had been stored in a freezer for two months after being abandoned near Bok Ko mountain.
Family members told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency and The Guardian that Park Minho was a victim of repeated attacks and that he had been defrauded of approximately $26,000.
Following interrogations and intelligence from the suspects, Cambodian authorities raided a villa in Rolous village, Boeung Tuk commune, Bokor city, Kampot province, where Park Minho had been held before his death, and arrested another suspect, the property manager, while the remaining suspect remains at large.
On October 11, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that President Lee Jae Myung directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond comprehensively to ongoing crimes against South Korean citizens in Cambodia. The Seoul government has advised South Koreans to avoid travel to Phnom Penh. The opposition criticized the government for acting too slowly.
The Chosun Daily further reported that President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the need to tighten controls on travel between South Korea and Cambodia in affected areas and to strengthen cooperation with Cambodian authorities for the safe repatriation of South Korean nationals targeted by online scams.
Amnesty International has previously documented 53 facilities in Cambodia used as detention and online scam centers. Foreign researchers describe these online fraud operations as a growing societal threat within Cambodia.
In response, U.S. lawmakers introduced House Resolution 5490 on September 18, 2025, to establish an inter-agency task force aimed at dismantling international criminal networks operating online scams in Cambodia, including those targeting U.S. citizens. Chou Bun Eng, Secretary of State at Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior overseeing the national anti-human trafficking authority, confirmed to Al Jazeera that she was unaware that some individuals implicated in online human trafficking and fraud in Cambodia are also listed on the U.S. blacklist.
