Suspects in connection to the death of student who was tortured and killed in Cambodia arrested
Published: 11 Oct. 2025, 12:33
Updated: 13 Oct. 2025, 16:20
![The logo for Korean police [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/13/04ebb0c2-e1c5-4898-82f5-01b983a7a4e4.jpg)
The logo for Korean police [YONHAP]
Several suspects connected to the death of a Korean university student who was tortured in Cambodia in August have been arrested.
The individuals involved in procuring “borrowed-name bank accounts” were detained last month in Korea on charges of luring a man in his 20s from Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang, to Cambodia in July, according to the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency on Saturday.
All those arrested are Korean nationals.
The victim left for Cambodia on July 17, telling his family he would be attending a “local fair.” He was found dead three weeks later on Aug. 8 near Bokor Mountain in Kampot.
The area has been associated with a series of employment scams and illegal detentions targeting Koreans.
Cambodian police authorities listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest due to “severe pain caused by torture,” according to the official death report.
The victim’s family had earlier reported to police and the Foreign Ministry that they had received threatening calls from a man speaking Korean with a Chinese accent, demanding more than 50 million won ($36,000) to “settle an incident their son had caused.”
Police said they believe the victim may have had “contact with members of the recruitment ring and are widening their investigation,” adding that they are also “tracking individuals connected to recent employment scams and abduction cases involving Koreans in Cambodia.”
The victim's body has been held in Cambodia for nearly two months due to limited cooperation from local authorities.
Police said they are working with the victim’s family, the Foreign Ministry and Cambodian investigators to repatriate his remains.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)