Seoul: The foreign ministry has announced a travel ban on specific areas in Cambodia due to escalating safety concerns linked to an expanding job scam crisis that has resulted in the trafficking and torture of South Korean citizens.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a Level 4 travel ban, the most severe in the country's four-tier travel warning system, has been enacted for Cambodia's Bokor Mountain region in Kampot Province, as well as the cities of Bavet and Poipet. Additionally, the ministry has advised South Koreans located in Sihanoukville Province to evacuate the area, citing its reputation as a hub for criminal organizations.
The decision follows reports of an increasing number of South Koreans being kidnapped and held in Cambodia after being ensnared by fraudulent job offers. A particularly harrowing incident involved a university student who was discovered deceased near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August, having been tortured and detained, which ignited widespread public anger.