South Korea is pushing for the rapid repatriation of its citizens detained in Cambodia on suspicion of involvement in sophisticated online job scams, seeking to bring them home for prosecution amidst a crackdown on cross-border criminal networks.
The initiative follows a high-level meeting in Phnom Penh where South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na discussed enhanced cooperation with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
These online scams have targeted numerous South Koreans, leading to reports of kidnappings, physical abuse, and some deaths among victims.
A special South Korean task force, led by Kim Ji-na and comprising officials from the National Police Agency, Ministry of Justice, and National Intelligence Service, arrived in Cambodia on Wednesday evening local time to address the crisis.
The delegation met with Prime Minister Manet, who also chairs Cambodia’s national committee against online fraud, focusing on prevention and suppression of online scam operations.
Kim told reporters upon arrival at the airport that while detailed methods for repatriation were being prepared, no final conclusions had been reached yet.
The immediate focus is the repatriation of 61 South Koreans currently held by Cambodian immigration authorities on suspicion of involvement in these crimes.
South Korean police have already filed charges against all individuals involved in these job scam cases. The government aims for a swift return to prosecute them under South Korean criminal procedures.
Two individuals were already returned on Tuesday, reducing the total from an initial 63. Seoul aims to complete the repatriation of these remaining suspects by the end of the week, a senior South Korean security advisor stated Tuesday.
Minister Kim also pledged to collaborate with Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities to investigate the death of a 30-year-old South Korean woman.
Her body was discovered last week near the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Investigators are exploring a potential link between her death and Cambodia-based call center scams.