Gov't rejected request to increase police personnel at embassy in Cambodia: lawmaker
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, right, listens to a lawmaker's question about crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia during an audit by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The interior ministry rejected a request by the foreign ministry last year to send additional police personnel to the Korean Embassy in Cambodia to tackle growing crimes against Koreans, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the ruling Democratic Party said documents from the two ministries showed the interior ministry rejected the request on the grounds that "the increase in the workload, including the number of cases, falls short of the level needed to increase personnel."
The revelation comes amid reports of a growing number of Koreans abducted and detained in Cambodia after falling victim to job scams. The case of a college student who was tortured to death made headlines, prompting a governmentwide response.
According to official data, crimes against 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.
The police personnel at the Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh currently consists of one official and two assistants. The assistants were dispatched in October last year and last month, respectively.