▲ Acting National Police Agency chief Yoo Jae-seong and his Cambodian counterpart, Sar Thet, pose for a photo as they meet in Seoul in this photo provided by Yoo's office on April 29, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Cambodia police

S. Korea, Cambodia agree to expand investigation of joint police team to drug, gambling crimes

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and Cambodian police agreed Wednesday to expand the investigation scope of their joint team to cover drug and online gambling crimes, Seoul's National Police Agency (NPA) said.

Acting NPA chief Yoo Jae-seong and his Cambodian counterpart, Sar Thet, reached the agreement for the Cambodia-based joint investigation team during their talks in Seoul as part of efforts to root out transnational crime involving South Koreans, according to the NPA.

The Cambodian-Korean Joint Task Force for Koreans was launched late last year to tackle scam crimes involving Korean nationals in the Southeast Asian country in response to the torture death of a Korean college student earlier that year.

The student had been lured into Cambodia in an employment scam, sparking widespread public outrage in South Korea.

Since its launch, the joint team has apprehended 166 scam suspects in the Southeast Asian nation, and rescued five South Korean nationals who were detained in scam centers there.

The NPA has also decided to launch an official development assistance project worth 18 billion won (US$12 million) with the Korea International Cooperation Agency to help boost the Cambodian police's crime scene investigation capabilities.

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