Lawmakers to hold audit in Korean Embassy in Cambodia amid rising crimes targeting nationals

Rep. Kim Seok-ki, right, chair of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, speaks during a seminar at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sept. 19. Yonhap

A parliamentary committee plans to conduct an on-site audit at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia amid a surge in crimes targeting Koreans in the Southeast Asian country, lawmakers said Thursday.

The Asia-Pacific division of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee is scheduled to visit Phnom Penh from Oct. 21 to 24 to assess the situation surrounding job scams, abductions and confinement cases involving Koreans.

"Both the government and the National Assembly must be on the ground to show the Cambodian authorities that Korea takes these abduction and confinement incidents very seriously so they will take active steps to resolve the issue," Rep. Kim Seok-ki of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who chairs the committee, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.

During the visit, the committee will hold an audit session on Oct. 22 at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia involving seven diplomatic missions in the region, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

The lawmakers also plan to inspect two major crime compounds on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Separately, the committee will conduct an on-site audit at the Korean Embassy in the Philippines on Thursday.

Public outrage has intensified after a growing number of Koreans were reported missing in Cambodia this year, including a university student who was found dead near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August after being tortured and detained.