South Korea bans travel to scam hotspots in Cambodia after student’s death

South Korea has banned travel to certain parts of Cambodia after the death of a college student, reportedly kidnapped and tortured by a crime ring, shocked the nation and led to calls for stronger government intervention. On Wednesday, Seoul designated the Bokor Mountain area, Poipet and Bavet as travel ban zones. “South Korean nationals visiting or staying in those areas may be subject to penalties under the Passport Act and other relevant regulations. Citizens planning to travel to such areas are therefore strongly advised to cancel their trips,” the foreign ministry said, as reported by Agence France-Presse. The banned areas were notable for being scam camp hotspots, one South Korean victim told Yonhap news agency on Tuesday. “Not all regions in Cambodia are the same. Unlike Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, border towns like Poipet and Bavet are among the most dangerous and the last places people are sent to,” he said. Beatings, torture and even organ harvesting took place regularly in these scam complexes. “It’s not uncommon for people to die from assault. About one person dies every day,” one South Korean who is a resident in Cambodia said. “It’s not just South Koreans who are targeted. There are also people of various nationalities, including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Chinese.” The issue of South Koreans being caught up in Cambodia’s scam epidemic came into the spotlight after the death of a 22-year-old college student in August. Before flying out on July 17, the student from North Gyeongsang province told his family that he was taking a summer job at an expo in Phnom Penh, local media reported. His parents received a call demanding a US$38,500 ransom a week later, claiming their son “had caused trouble”, but soon lost contact with his kidnappers. His body was found three weeks later in a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, according to a report by The Korea Herald newspaper. Cambodian police said the cause of death was cardiac arrest resulting from torture and extreme pain. The area where the student’s body was found was notorious for housing scam compounds, the South Korean resident in Cambodia told Yonhap. “People usually go there to sell their bank accounts. But they get trapped there and end up doing illegal things or even losing their lives.” About 1,000 South Koreans were likely working for Cambodia-based online scam operators, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters on Wednesday, according to a report by Agence France-Presse. “It is believed that around 200,000 people of various nationalities are working in Cambodia’s scam industry, which targets victims worldwide, including in South Korea,” Wi said. South Koreans were targeted by these crime rings for two reasons, a victim told Yonhap. “One is bank accounts are needed to launder their criminal proceeds. The other is to engage in fraudulent telemarketing, chatting and customer service targeting South Koreans.” According to the victim, torture, such as pulling out fingernails or cutting off fingers, is common. Some are also sold and end up in Cambodian border towns such as Poipet and Bavet. Another witness told Yonhap that those who could no longer work or did not perform were tortured and sold for organ trafficking. “If victims go into debt and fail to produce a certain performance, they are forced to sell their organs. They first have their eyeballs removed because corneas are relatively easy to transplant and their unit price is quite expensive,” the witness said. Abuses in Cambodia’s scam centres were happening on a “mass scale”, Amnesty International told Agence France-Presse. It estimates there are at least 53 scam compounds in the country where organised criminal groups carry out human trafficking, forced labour, torture and slavery. A foreign ministry official said on Tuesday that 330 South Koreans were reported to have gone missing or been held against their will after entering Cambodia between January and August. As of August, “the safety of about 80 people has yet to be verified”, the official added, according to a Yonhap report. President Lee Jae-myung said on Tuesday that the recent kidnappings in Cambodia were causing “significant harm to South Koreans”. “The numbers are not small, and many of our citizens are deeply concerned about their family members, friends and neighbours who have been detained in Cambodia,” he said in a cabinet meeting. “The government should immediately implement all available measures to ensure the safety of our citizens.” Seoul is sending a joint response team to Cambodia on Wednesday evening, led by Second Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Jin-ah. South Korean police said they would be establishing a dedicated “Korean desk” and expanding their investigation team in Cambodia to 30 members. Police personnel from both countries are scheduled to meet in Seoul on October 23 to discuss details of their cooperation. Some lawmakers have urged the government to take stronger measures, including mounting a military rescue operation. On Tuesday, opposition politician Song Eon-seog called for direct intervention, citing a 2011 military hostage rescue mission, The Korea Herald newspaper reported. “In the past, our government carried out a full-scale military operation – the ‘Dawn of the Gulf of Aden’ mission – to rescue Korean citizens taken hostage,” Song said. During the 2011 operation, the country’s navy commandos freed hostages from a South Korean-operated chemical tanker after Somali pirates hijacked the vessel in the Arabian Sea. Song’s remarks echoed those of Lee Eon-ju, a member of the ruling party’s supreme council. “We must show the world that anyone who commits crimes or terrorism against Koreans will be punished to the end,” she wrote on social media on Monday. “If Cambodia responds passively, we should consider self-help measures, including military action, to protect our citizens.”

South Korea bans travel to scam hotspots in Cambodia after student’s death

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Seoul estimates that about 1,000 South Koreans are being forced to work for these Cambodia-based online scam operators

Seoul estimates that about 1,000 South Koreans are being forced to work for these Cambodia-based online scam operators