A South Korean inspection team led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Jina Kim arrived in Cambodia on Thursday, a day after Seoul issued a travel ban for parts of the country over concerns that its nationals are being trafficked into online scam compounds.
Kim met Prime Minister Hun Manet to discuss crimes involving South Koreans, the possible repatriation of those detained in scam crackdowns, and ways to strengthen cooperation on transnational crime.
The talks followed the death of a South Korean student who was allegedly tortured to death by a Chinese criminal group operating from a notorious area in Cambodia linked to online scam centers that rely on forced labor. Cambodian police have arrested three Chinese suspects and are pursuing two more in connection with the case.
South Korean officials estimate about 1,000 of their nationals are involved – either trafficked or willingly – in organized crime networks operating across Cambodia. Hundreds of reported scam compounds in the country, many run by Chinese syndicates, are believed to have trafficked more than 150,000 people from various nations.
Cambodia has come under growing international pressure for harboring illicit scam operations. On Wednesday, the United States sanctioned Phnom Penh-based conglomerate Prince Group, seizing billions of dollars in assets and labeling it a transnational criminal organization running industrial-scale scam and trafficking networks.
Hun Manet wrote on his Facebook page that talks with Kim produced “many positive results.”
“We [also] discussed joint efforts to combat transnational crimes, particularly online scams, emphasizing that cooperation between Cambodian and Korean authorities has produced many positive results,” he said, noting the upgrade in bilateral relations in 2024.
“Cambodia and the Republic of Korea will continue to enhance collaboration to more effectively prevent, suppress, and combat online scams, contributing to peace, public order and social security,” he added.
Kim did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The South Korean government also plans to establish a “Korean Desk” in Cambodia to assist victims trafficked into scam compounds. Officials said the initiative will be a key agenda item at the International Police Summit 2025 in Seoul from Oct. 20-23.
A meeting between South Korean and Cambodian law enforcement officials at the summit is expected to conclude with the signing of an MoU to formalize the bureau’s creation.
The South Korean delegation, which included security advisers, also said on Thursday it intended to discuss the possible repatriation of more than 60 South Korean nationals currently detained by Cambodian immigration authorities following raids on scam compounds. They are among about 90 South Koreans arrested during raids in July and September, officials said.
Cambodia’s national police said in a statement on Thursday evening that 59 of the detainees will be repatriated on Oct. 17. It remains unclear whether the remaining individuals identified by South Korean officials have already been returned.
