More Koreans getting scammed, kidnapped in Golden Triangle, warns Seoul

Diplomacy

Published: 28 Feb. 2024, 15:02

More Koreans getting scammed, kidnapped in Golden Triangle, warns Seoul

A pile of firewood is piled up for the funeral of those who have been victims of crime in a village in Sagaing, Myanmar on March 2, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

Cases of Korean nationals falling victim to employment scams and even being kidnapped in Southeast Asia are growing, the Foreign Ministry warned Wednesday.

The spike in cases is especially apparent in the Golden Triangle, a mountainous region encompassing northern Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. A total of 55 cases involving 140 Korean nationals in the region have been reported since 2021.

Thirty-eight people have filed damage cases to the Foreign Ministry this January alone, a 40 percent increase from the same period last year.

All 140 Koreans who have been victims of employment scams or kidnapping have been safely rescued, according to the Foreign Ministry.

“In the Golden Triangle region and some Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, the number of damage cases regarding employment fraud has been rapidly increasing recently,” said the Foreign Ministry in a press release.

The Golden Triangle region is known for illegal activities, not just involving Koreans but locals and other nationalities.

Last November, 19 Koreans were found imprisoned in an illegal business in Tachileik, a border town in Shan State in eastern Myanmar.

Even after the Koreans were released from illegal imprisonment by the business, they were detained for nearly a month while being investigated by local authorities for their involvement in crimes forced upon them by the business.

As most of the Korean victims in the Golden Triangle region enter the area through Thailand, a special travel advisory will be issued for two border checkpoints in northern Thailand from Friday.

In November last year, The government imposed a level 4 travel ban on the northeastern part of Shan State and Kayah State in Myanmar and the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos in February this year to prevent harm from similar employment fraud schemes.

Culprits of employment fraud in the Golden Triangle region usually advertise jobs online and through social media, promising guaranteed high profits, and contact victims individually through Telegram to lure them to the area by offering plane tickets and accommodation.

Upon arrival, the culprits take away victims’ cell phones and passports and force them — through imprisonment, assault and threats — to engage in illegal activities such as voice phishing, investment fraud, romance scams and brokering prostitution.

The problem with these employment fraud schemes in the Golden Triangle region is that it is hard for embassy consuls to reach the area, and it is also difficult for authorities, such as the police of the host country, to enter. Consular assistance is thus limited, and rescue efforts are difficult even when reports are received.

The Foreign Ministry said it is doing everything possible to prevent repetition of such cases.

“Our local embassies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Agency are working closely with the authorities of the host countries to support the safe return of our citizens in these cases,” said the Foreign Ministry. “Our government will continue to do its best to ensure the safety and protection of our citizens by cooperating with these authorities and providing consular assistance overseas.”

"While working closely with local security authorities, we are also strengthening cooperation with Chinese public security as Chinese authorities are also responsible for security in some areas of the Golden Triangle," a National Police Agency official told reporters during a briefing Tuesday. "For fundamental prevention purposes, it is important for citizens not to engage in overseas employment fraud and not to visit risky areas."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]