Cambodian court sentences 6 Chinese nationals to life for murder of Korean student

Cambodian police raid a scam operation office in Cambodia, Jan. 22. Courtesy of Korean government's Transnational Crime Task Force

A Cambodian court has sentenced six Chinese nationals to life in prison for the kidnapping, torture and murder of a 22-year-old Korean university student. The student was lured to Cambodia last year by a voice phishing scam network and later trafficked between multiple criminal organizations.

According to local media reports Thursday, the Kampot Provincial Court in southern Cambodia handed down life sentences to all six defendants convicted in the killing of Park, the student.

Since Cambodia does not have the death penalty, life imprisonment is the country's harshest punishment.

The trial began on May 6, and the court ruled that the six defendants were guilty of murder, unlawful detention, torture and organized fraud.

In a statement, the court said the victim died after being subjected to severe torture, adding that investigators found numerous bruises and injuries across his body. The court added that the evidence and legal review provided sufficient grounds to convict all six defendants. Assets seized during the investigation were also ordered confiscated.

Park, a university student from North Gyeongsang Province, left for Cambodia in July last year after telling his family he was going to attend an exhibition. A week later, his family received a ransom call demanding 50 million won ($33,000) and threatening to sell Park abroad.

On Aug. 8, Park's body was discovered inside a vehicle near Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, an area known for its scam compounds.

The authorities said Li Guanghao, the alleged ringleader who was one of the six Chinese nationals sentenced to life in prison, made the ransom call to Park's family.

Li remained on the run for several months before being arrested in Phnom Penh last November through a joint operation by Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) and Cambodian police.

Li was also known to have been an accomplice of the mastermind behind the 2023 drug-laced beverage incident in Seoul's wealthy Gangnam district.

The NIS and Cambodian police concluded through a joint investigation that Park was deceived by a voice phishing operation in Korea, which resulted in him traveling to Cambodia. There, he was kidnapped and detained by a Chinese-run scam syndicate.

Park was subsequently sold or transferred among multiple criminal groups, during which time he was subjected to repeated beatings, torture and forced drug use. Ultimately, he died from the abuse.

Following an autopsy and cremation in Cambodia, Park's remains were returned to his family last October.