SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - The government has brought back some 107 South Korean suspects allegedly involved in online scam crimes in Cambodia, the presidential office said on Friday.
During a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said a sweeping crackdown has been conducted in cooperation with the Southeast Asian country since October, making it possible to bring them back. The efforts were made following revelations of a series of kidnappings, detentions and brutal tortures involving South Koreans, including the case of a college student who traveled there after being lured by an online employment scam in August and was later found to have been tortured to death.
According to Kang, the cumulative number of suspects arrested in Cambodia along with those soon to be deported to here stood at 154 as of the end of November.
Cases of South Korean nationals being detained or reported missing in Cambodia also dropped significantly, from 93 in October to 17 in November.
In late October, shortly after the student's death was revealed, a special task force consisting of multiple government agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Intelligence Service was formed, leading to joint measures with the Cambodian government.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
