Cambodia vows to solve online scam issue with South Korea

ISTANBUL

Cambodia pledged Thursday to solve the online scam crime issue with South Korea, vowing to continue to enhance cooperation.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet met South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na in Phnom Penh, where they discussed ways to combat violent organized crime in Cambodia after a South Korean university student was found dead after being tortured by criminal groups.

“We also discussed joint efforts in combating transnational crimes, particularly online scams - emphasizing that cooperation between the Cambodian and Korean authorities over the years has yielded many fruitful outcomes,” Hun Manet wrote on the US social media company, X.

The prime minister pointed out that the two nations would continue to strengthen collaboration “to prevent, suppress, and combat online scams more effectively, contributing to the maintenance of peace, public order, and social security.”

Park Min-ho, a 22-year-old South Korean university student, was found dead in August in Cambodia’s Kampot province after being tortured by criminals. A South Korean woman was also found dead Oct. 7 in Vietnam near the Cambodia border.

During her meeting with the Cambodian prime minister, Kim expressed "strong regret" about the increasing online job scams targeting South Koreans in Cambodia, urging cooperation and efforts to put an end to the crime, according to Yonhap News.

She urged cooperation from Cambodian authorities to swiftly repatriate 60 South Koreans detained in Cambodia for their suspected involvement in scams.

Kim's delegation arrived Thursday in Cambodia to tackle an escalating job scam crisis involving the abduction and brutal abuse of South Koreans.

South Korea issued a travel ban Wednesday for parts of Cambodia, as well as a travel warning to South Koreans in Cambodia's Sihanoukville province.

A Foreign Ministry official said separately that as of Tuesday, around 80 South Koreans linked to job scams in Cambodia were missing or whose safety could not be confirmed.