Seoul alarmed as 1,000 Koreans believed to have been trafficked to Cambodia by scammers

The discovery of a dead 22-year-old South Korean student in Cambodia, allegedly tortured to death, has prompted Seoul to issue its highest-level travel warning for parts of the country amid a surge in organised criminal activity involving online scams and human trafficking of its citizens.

South Korean and Cambodian officials met in Phnom Penh on October 16 to coordinate a joint response to the growing crisis, as reported by Korean media.

Public outrage in South Korea has mounted over Cambodia’s vast online scam industry, which traffics workers from multiple countries to operate fraudulent schemes targeting victims worldwide. Authorities estimate that around 200,000 people — including roughly 1,000 South Koreans — are currently being exploited at online scam compounds across Cambodia.

In August, the body of 22-year-old student Park Min-ho was found in a pickup truck in the southern Kampot province. Cambodian authorities reported that he had died of cardiac arrest following “torture and beatings.”

In response, South Korea has banned travel to several high-risk areas, including the border towns of Poipet and Bavet, as well as the Bokor Mountain region in Kampot province, located about 140 kilometres southwest of the capital.

“We are making efforts to ensure repatriation by this weekend,” said South Korea’s top security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, who has established an emergency task force to retrieve citizens trapped in scam operations.

However, Wi noted that the government recognises the complex nature of the situation, adding that returnees may face “investigation and judicial measures depending on their level of involvement” in the criminal networks.

The number of kidnappings involving South Koreans in Cambodia has sharply increased in recent months. Victims are often lured with offers of high-paying jobs, only to be confined in guarded compounds and forced to participate in online fraud schemes.

Witness accounts from rescued Koreans have exposed the brutal conditions inside these sites. Survivors described being tortured with electric shock devices and “indiscriminately” beaten with metal pipes by Chinese supervisors, according to an article by The Guardian.

By Nazrin Sadigova