Seoul: The government will dispatch a joint response team to Cambodia to tackle crimes targeting South Koreans amid rising cases of job scams, the presidential office said Tuesday, following the torture and death of a college student that shocked the nation. The response came after President Lee Jae Myung instructed relevant ministries during a Cabinet meeting to mobilize "all available resources" to help South Korean nationals kidnapped in Cambodia in connection with job scams safely return home.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na will lead the team departing Wednesday, accompanied by officials from the National Police Agency (NPA) and the National Intelligence Service, presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon told reporters. Park Sung-joo, head of the National Office of Investigation at the NPA, will also join the team to coordinate with Cambodian authorities on the repatriation of detained South Koreans and discuss a joint investigation into the student's death. South Korea and Cambodia have also agreed to form a joint task force involving their investigative authorities to tackle scam crimes.
As of Tuesday, 63 South Koreans were being held by Cambodian authorities, Kim said. The government plans to work with Cambodia to dispatch a special flight for their repatriation. They will be investigated for possible involvement in criminal activity upon their return. When asked about response measures if they refuse to return, Kim said the government is clear in its stance to bring back all of its citizens.
During the Cabinet meeting, the NPA briefed on plans to establish an international cooperation body to carry out joint operations against kidnapping and confinement cases involving South Koreans across Southeast Asia, Kim said. To prevent further incidents, the government will consider raising the travel advisory level for high-risk areas in Cambodia, while reinforcing police personnel at the South Korean embassy and expanding international cooperation capabilities, he noted.
Addressing rising safety concerns of Koreans in Cambodia, Lee urged the government to "implement all available resources to promptly, accurately and decisively respond to this problem." "Related ministries should accelerate the establishment of a regular communication channel between the law enforcement authorities of the two countries through consultations with the Cambodian government," Lee said during the meeting. Lee also called on the government to ensure sufficient staffing and budget allocations for embassies abroad so they can provide timely assistance to Koreans in need.
Seoul has been in consultations with Phnom Penh to increase the number of police officers at the South Korean Embassy -- which currently consists of one official and two assistants -- and to establish a "Korean Desk" within the Cambodian national police, a team dedicated to handling cases involving Koreans. Kim said Cambodia has yet to respond to South Korea's request to create the "Korean Desk."
According to official data, crimes against South Koreans in Cambodia rose sharply from 81 cases in 2022 to 134 in 2023 and 348 last year. In the first half of this year, the number was 303.