Gov't response team to meet Cambodian PM over job scams targeting Koreans
Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na answers reporters' questions upon arrival at Techo International Airport, south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 15. Yonhap
PHNOM PENH — A Korean joint government response team has flown to Cambodia to tackle a series of job scams involving the abduction and brutal abuse of Koreans, and plans to meet with Prime Minister Hun Manet to address the issue.
The team, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na, arrived at Techo International Airport, south of the Cambodian capital, late Wednesday (local time), along with officials from the National Policy Agency, the Ministry of Justice and the National Intelligence Service.
The team plans to meet with top Cambodian authorities to address the escalating job scam crisis in which many Koreans have fallen victim to, including ways to coordinate on the investigation in the torture death of a Korean college student.
They will meet with the head of Cambodia's Commission for Combatting Online Scams, a high-level task force chaired by Prime Minister Hun Manet set up to prevent and crack down on online scams, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.
They also plan to pay a courtesy call on Hun afterward.
The team seeks to discuss with Cambodia plans to repatriate 61 Koreans detained by Cambodian immigration authorities over their suspected involvement in the organized crime, possibly via a special flight.
"We are preparing for detailed methods," Kim told reporters at the airport upon arrival. "It has yet to be finalized."
The number of the detained Koreans has been adjusted from 63 as two people were repatriated by plane Tuesday.
Korean police have already booked the detainees over the job scams, and Seoul is pushing for their swift repatriation to hold them legally accountable in accordance with Korean criminal proceedings.
Korea's top security adviser Wi Sung-lac said Tuesday the government aims to bring them back home by the end of this week.
Speaking to the press at the airport, Kim also vowed to actively engage with relevant authorities in Vietnam and Cambodia to investigate the death of a Korean woman, whose body was found near the border between the two Southeast Asian nations.
The woman in her 30s was discovered in Vietnam last week. Authorities said they are looking into the case with possible connections to a phishing scam in Cambodia.