Gov't response team set to depart for Cambodia amid widening job scam crisis targeting S. Koreans

▲ This photo, taken Oct. 14, 2025, shows a building in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, supposedly used as a job scam compound. (Yonhap)

▲ Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na (Yonhap)

response team-Cambodia

Gov't response team set to depart for Cambodia amid widening job scam crisis targeting S. Koreans

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- A joint government response team is set to depart for Cambodia on Wednesday amid an escalating job scam crisis involving the trafficking, torture and captivity of South Koreans, following public shock and fear sparked by the brutal death of a South Korean college student.

The response team, consisting of officials from the foreign ministry, police and the spy agency, is scheduled to head for Phnom Penh later in the day, as it seeks to engage with high-level Cambodian government officials to address the crimes and urge their cooperation for the repatriation of South Korean nationals.

The issue has become a top priority for Seoul as it faces mounting public criticism for overlooking the situation and allowing its people to fall victim to the violent crimes spiraling out of control.

The response team, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na, is expected to call for Cambodian authorities' cooperation in the investigation into the death of the student, who was allegedly killed after suffering from torture.

The student, in his 20s, was found dead in a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August, weeks after working for a Chinese-run scam ring. It is the first known South Korean death linked to the job scams. His body has yet to be repatriated reportedly due to Cambodia's lack of cooperation.

The response team plans to discuss with Cambodian officials to work out ways for the autopsy and return of the body, as well as a joint probe into his death.

They are also expected to discuss plans to bring back 63 South Koreans detained in Cambodia's job scam crackdown. Seoul aims to secure their return home and hold them legally accountable here for their suspected involvement in the illegal activities.

The presidential office said Tuesday it will work with Cambodia to send a special flight for their repatriation. Police have said they seek to bring back all 63 people home "within one month."

But it remains to be seen how many of them will opt to return, as they are reportedly likely to resist being sent back. Many of them are believed to have participated voluntarily in the scams.

The foreign ministry has said about 80 South Koreans linked to job scams in Cambodia remain unaccounted for. The two countries have agreed to form a joint task force of their investigative authorities to tackle scam crimes.

To better manage the growing workload at the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia, the government has assigned Park Il, former ambassador to Lebanon, to a temporary position overseeing the mission.

The ambassadorial post in Cambodia has remained vacant since the start of the Lee Jae Myung government, a situation criticized by the opposition as contributing to its lax response.

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