Redazione RHC : 17 October 2025 08:26
South Korea has launched a repatriation operation for its citizens from Cambodia, following reports of kidnappings, violence and the death of a 22-year-old student who was the victim of a large-scale scam.
According to South Korea’s Directorate for National Security, Wi Seungrak, the location of most of the missing has been identified, but 79 remain unaccounted for. About 60 other citizens have been arrested by Cambodian authorities, and the government plans to secure their repatriation.
Fraud centers in Cambodia function like closed labor camps: people are lured with advertisements promising high wages, then held in closed premises and forced to defraud others online , including their own countrymen.
South Koreans have been found to be responding en masse to such offers on Telegram and job sites, promising incomes of up to 5 million won (about 300 euros) per week , more than the average monthly salary of a worker in the country.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, starting October 16, citizens will be banned from visiting certain areas of Cambodia where cases of forced detention and gang activity have been reported . This measure is a continuation of international efforts to combat large-scale fraud in Southeast Asia.
Earlier this month, China began cracking down on fraud centers in Myanmar and Cambodia, while the day before, the United States and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Prince Group, a major local conglomerate allegedly responsible for orchestrating a global fraud.
As part of the joint operation, U.S. authorities seized $15 billion in cryptocurrencies and charged the holding company’s chairman with money laundering and financial fraud.
According to the United Nations, approximately 200,000 people are involved in the fraud industry in Cambodia, approximately 1,000 of whom are South Korean citizens . Many are recruited through fake job advertisements, then imprisoned and implicated in criminal operations. Koreans aren’t the only ones involved: people from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa are also involved in these scams.
Some South Koreans have deliberately traveled to Cambodia with the intention of engaging in shady activities, while others have attempted to return after returning home. It has been emphasized that the government will take measures to stem the flow of citizens to regions associated with criminal activity.
Representatives of the Korean Rescue Organization, a non-governmental organization providing evacuation assistance, reported that those who refused to cooperate in these centers were beaten, tortured, and subjected to extortion by their families. According to lawmaker Park Chan-de, some abductees were subjected to forced drugging, sexual assault, and medical examinations with the aim of possible organ trafficking .
One of the most high-profile cases was that of student Park Minho , who died in Cambodia in August. According to local authorities, the cause of death was a heart attack brought on by severe torture . His body was found in a Ford parked near a building later identified as a fraudulent base.
As part of the investigation, three Chinese nationals and two other individuals suspected of involvement in the student’s death and orchestrating the fraud were arrested . Cambodian authorities said they are working with South Korea to identify other members of the criminal network.