Cambodian PM pledges stronger protection for Koreans

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina speaks during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed his condolences over the recent death of a Korean national in Cambodia and pledged stronger efforts to protect Korean citizens in the country, amid a surge in crimes targeting Koreans there.

At Thursday's meeting with a delegation from Seoul led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina, Hun said he deeply regretted the death and understood the concerns of the Korean government, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He assured that Cambodian authorities are intensifying crackdowns on online scams and associated criminal organizations, it added.

As chairman of the nation’s online scam response committee, Hun said he ordered stricter enforcement actions and greater cooperation with Korea to prevent further harm to Korean residents and visitors, the ministry said.

The remarks come as Cambodia faces rising scrutiny from Seoul over a wave of crimes targeting Koreans, who are often lured there by fraudulent job offers. Many end up forced to work in illegal online scams, like voice phishing or romance fraud, under threat of severe physical abuse.

Kim emphasized the importance of the “Korea–Cambodia Joint Task Force on Scam Crimes,” which involves participation from the Korean National Police Agency and other relevant institutions. At the same time, she requested active cooperation from the Cambodian government to ensure the swift repatriation of Korean nationals currently detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in criminal activities.

According to AFP, Cambodia plans to deport 59 Koreans who worked in cyberscam schemes on Friday.

The prime minister also expressed concerns over negative media coverage of Cambodia in Korea. In response, Kim said both countries must work more closely together to improve the situation and address such perceptions. She added that Korea could also consider development cooperation projects aimed at strengthening Cambodia’s public security capabilities.

In Seoul, President Lee Jae Myung ordered swift removal of online job postings that lure Koreans into criminal schemes in Cambodia. During a meeting at the presidential office, Lee directed officials to use the Korea Communications Standards Commission’s emergency review system to promptly delete such deceptive ads.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said the president stressed the need for continuous, all-out efforts to protect citizens and monitor progress closely.

Wi added that the government will conduct a comprehensive check through 190 overseas diplomatic missions to identify similar fraudulent recruitment cases worldwide.

"We will conduct a thorough investigation through 190 overseas diplomatic missions around the world — including those in Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries — to determine whether there are similar cases that could potentially harm Korean nationals abroad, and will cooperate with the respective countries,” he said.

This photo shows a suspected criminal complex located near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday. Yonhap

Amid rising safety worries, many Korean organizations are scaling back — or in some cases canceling — volunteer activities in Cambodia.

Local governments, universities and nonprofit groups across Korea have either delayed their scheduled volunteer programs or ordered early returns of volunteers currently stationed in the Southeast Asian country to ensure their safety.

On Wednesday, Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Dong-yeon ordered the early return of all members of the province’s Youth Climate Envoy team. The 34-member delegation arrived in Cambodia on Oct. 11 for a program that included tree planting and cultural exchange activities, and was originally scheduled through Oct. 28.

“Even before the dispatch (amid rising safety concerns), we took emergency measures such as changing the destination from Kampot to Kampong Speu for safety reasons, and told the volunteers not to go out after 6 p.m.,” an official said. “But considering the remaining concerns about safety, we decided to have them return early.”

The same day, Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated the Bokor Mountain region in Kampot Province as well as the cities of Bavet and Poipet as travel-prohibited zones. Bokor Mountain is where a Korean man was found dead in August, and both Bavet and Poipet are known to be areas with a heavy concentration of criminal organizations.

The Suwon city government also decided not to send a volunteer delegation this year to Siem Reap, its sister city. The Suwon-Siem Reap volunteer team, which has visited the area annually since 2007 except during the COVID-19 pandemic, was originally planning to dispatch around 80 members, including medical staff, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.

Meanwhile, Incheon Metropolitan City recently suspended applications for a medical volunteer program, initially planned for December in Kampot Province.

Similar moves are being made by universities including Kangwon National University and Jeju National University, and NGOs that had planned youth volunteer or development projects in Cambodia.

According to the foreign ministry, cases of Korean nationals being kidnapped or unlawfully confined in Cambodia surged from just 17 in 2023 to 220 last year and 550 as of August this year, a figure that includes cases reported to its Cambodia offices and directly to the ministry headquarters.