Police launches government-wide task force in response to rise in crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia
Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 20:14
![In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press, online scammers arrested by authorities stand in a building in Sihanoukville province, southwestern of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 15. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/14/75d819c3-ef5d-4d73-8e73-738d9aa1ae8f.jpg)
In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press, online scammers arrested by authorities stand in a building in Sihanoukville province, southwestern of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 15. [AP/YONHAP]
Korea's police launched a government-wide task force on Tuesday to crack down on crimes against Korean nationals in Cambodia, starting with the swift repatriation of 63 detainees within a month.
The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said it has formed a comprehensive response unit for crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia, led by the director of investigation planning and coordination under the National Office of Investigation. The task force will immediately begin operations.
The unit will oversee monitoring of online content related to Cambodia, probe possible links between criminal groups in Korea and overseas networks and collect intelligence on criminal hubs in Cambodia. Once investigators identify leads, they will assign cases to dedicated teams across Korean police departments.
Police have also launched a full review of 255 cases that were reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but were not formally filed with law enforcement as of August. To prevent future oversight, the KNPA said it will cross-analyze its own reports with Foreign Ministry data on a daily basis.
In response to employment scams that lure Koreans to Cambodia, the police will station officers at Incheon International Airport’s departure gates to provide travelers with real-time warnings about criminal activity in Cambodia.
Police will also expand its cooperation with Cambodian authorities. Park Seong-ju, the chief of the National Office of Investigation, will travel to Cambodia to discuss repatriating detained Koreans, dispatching additional police officers and strengthening joint investigative efforts.
Of the 63 Koreans currently detained in Cambodia, police said they will prioritize those already listed under Interpol red notices — international requests to arrest individuals for extradition — and aim to complete the repatriation process within a month. Police also plan to send two additional liaison officers to Cambodia, adding to the one attaché and two cooperation officers currently stationed there.
The police said they will propose the creation of a permanent “Korean Desk” during a bilateral meeting with Cambodian officials at the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Korea on Oct. 20.
“The safety of Korean nationals in Cambodia is our top priority,” said Yoo Jae-sung, the acting commissioner general of the National Police Agency. “We will use every available resource to protect our citizens from crime.”
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 HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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