Over 70 South Koreans sent home after online scam crackdown in Cambodia

South Koreans, who were detained in Cambodia over their alleged involvement in online scams, arrive at Incheon International Airport on Jan. 23, 2026. Yonhap

SEOUL, January 23 (AJP) - Some 73 South Koreans detained in Cambodia over alleged involvement in online scams and other crimes were forcibly returned home from the Southeast Asian country on Friday.

A chartered Korean Air flight carrying them arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 9:40 a.m., after departing Phnom Penh the previous day.

The suspects are set to face investigations here. They are accused of swindling a total of 486.7 billion won (US$331.5 million) from 869 South Korean victims and were nabbed by South Korea's task force in collaboration with Cambodian authorities, after the brutal torture and killing of a South Korean college student in Cambodia was belatedly reveled last summer.

Investigators reportedly targeted several organized scam rings to arrest a score of suspects, including a couple who used deepfake technology to swindle about 12 billion won from 104 South Koreans and tried to evade arrest by altering their appearance through plastic surgery.

Lee Hugh