South Korea has significantly broadened its crackdown on online job scams targeting its citizens across Southeast Asia, following an alarming increase in cases of detention and torture of victims.
President Lee Jae-myung issued an emergency directive to remove online advertisements luring South Koreans into illegal and fraudulent work schemes. This order expands previous efforts that had focused specifically on Cambodia, where online fraud cases against Koreans have been on a continuous rise.
Lee Kyu-yeon, Presidential Secretary for Public Relations, told reporters that President Lee instructed broadcasting and media inspection agencies, along with the National Police Agency, to accelerate the removal of suspicious online job postings. These ads often promise unrealistically high salaries in various Southeast Asian nations.
The heightened concern stems from a rapid increase in South Koreans being held captive and subjected to torture within call center and online scam operations. Authorities fear that stricter surveillance in Cambodia could prompt criminal networks to shift their recruitment efforts to other countries in the region.
As part of the government’s comprehensive response, officials plan to extensively review websites hosting these illicit advertisements. The collected data will be shared with major portal operators to enhance detection.
An advisory body has also been established, comprising leading technology companies such as Kakao, Naver, and Google. This group will launch a full self-regulatory system designed to identify and remove fraudulent postings.
The Presidential Office pledged a whole-of-government approach to protect its citizens. This strategy will cover all stages, from prevention and victim assistance to the identification and prosecution of those involved in these online criminal enterprises.