Tortured student's death shared on Telegram months ago; channel operator says police acted 'too slowly'
![Buildings and guard posts suspected of being used by a criminal organization in Cambodia. Behind tall concrete walls topped with triple-layered barbed wire and sharp metal fragments, barred windows are visible, suggesting a heavily fortified compound. [AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/18/dcd3cb81-0624-4ee2-b365-5b7af1fb0c02.jpg)
Buildings and guard posts suspected of being used by a criminal organization in Cambodia. Behind tall concrete walls topped with triple-layered barbed wire and sharp metal fragments, barred windows are visible, suggesting a heavily fortified compound. [AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL]
DAEGU — Before the Korean government took action, it was a shadowy Telegram channel, not law enforcement, that first exposed the gruesome death of a university student in Cambodia, revealing torture footage and triggering nationwide outrage.
But the whistle-blower who first exposed video evidence of the abuse online has criticized the authorities for being slow and ineffective, claiming that “70 percent of the crime rings have already left Cambodia.”
The case, which has drawn public outrage in Korea, first surfaced months ago through online posts and was amplified via a Telegram channel, the name of which roughly translates to “War on Crime 2.” The channel publishes personal details of suspected criminals involved in voice phishing, drug trafficking, prostitution and other illegal activity — including names, photos, passport scans and home addresses — often submitted by anonymous tipsters.
The same channel was the first to release a video showing a 22-year-old university student surnamed Park from Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang, being forced to inhale drugs by members of a criminal organization before his death in Cambodia in August. Multiple videos and pieces of information submitted by informants have since been made public.
![An image revealed on Telegram believed to show a university student from North Gyeongsang who died after being tortured by a criminal organization in Cambodia. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/18/9a6759ee-f744-4a8a-b3eb-afffe35334ba.jpg)
An image revealed on Telegram believed to show a university student from North Gyeongsang who died after being tortured by a criminal organization in Cambodia. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The JoongAng Ilbo met with the channel’s operator, surnamed Hwang, who goes by the alias “Cheonma.” Hwang is currently on trial at the Daegu District Court on charges of blackmail and other offenses stemming from unrelated cases. In an interview following their third court hearing, Hwang said, “I didn’t start this with a grandiose intention to bring justice. I’ve made my own share of mistakes. I just want to prevent more victims from suffering.”
“I’ve received countless death threats and been harassed over the past two years,” Hwang added. “If I were afraid of that, I wouldn’t have done any of this in the first place.”
Hwang continues to release evidence through the Telegram channel, including audio recordings of phone conversations with the suspected perpetrators and clips of Park being beaten before his death. However, Hwang has grown frustrated with the authorities' handling of the case.
“I provided all the information I had from the beginning and fully cooperated with investigators,” Hwang said. “But the investigation stalled. Even when I gave them the exact location of a suspect, they moved too slowly and let them slip away.”
Hwang claims to know who directly tortured and killed Park.
“Three Chinese nationals currently detained by Cambodian police were only involved in transporting Park by car,” Hwang said. “The actual killer is a 34-year-old Chinese man surnamed Li, who was also linked to the 2023 ‘drug-laced drinks’ scandal near academies in Seoul’s Gangnam District.”
Li was previously identified as a key distributor in that high-profile case, where drug-laced beverages were handed out to high school students. According to Hwang, Li also forced Park to take drugs and filmed the torture.
![A passport photo of a Chinese national posted on the Telegram channel run by “Cheonma.” The man is not one of the three Chinese suspects recently arrested by Cambodian authorities. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/18/7c7d9dc5-3197-40e8-828a-a93db71cbc6b.jpg)
A passport photo of a Chinese national posted on the Telegram channel run by “Cheonma.” The man is not one of the three Chinese suspects recently arrested by Cambodian authorities. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Although Hwang had previously cooperated with investigators, they recently announced via Telegram that they would no longer assist.
“I handed over all the evidence and materials. Authorities should have acted quickly to arrest the culprits. There’s a process, sure, but emergency arrests could have been made,” Hwang said. “I no longer see any reason to cooperate. From now on, each of us should do our part to fight crime in our own way.”
Hwang also pushed back against criticism labeling them a vigilante or accusing them of “private punishment.”
“When someone reports a drunk driver, the police thank them. But when I expose the torture and murder of a Korean citizen abroad, that’s suddenly vigilante justice?” Hwang said. “It’s not private punishment — it’s a public service.”
Hwang also rejected claims that they “suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”
“This Telegram channel has been active for over two years. That’s why I get information even the police and media don’t have,” Hwang said. “I’ve exposed more than 40,000 bank accounts used in voice phishing. How is that not making a real contribution?”
![According to Cambodia’s state-run AKP news agency on Oct. 11, the Kampot Provincial Prosecutor’s Office indicted three Chinese nationals in their 30s and 40s on charges of murder and fraud the previous day. The suspects are accused of killing a Korean university student in his 20s near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/18/fada7c8c-9fdc-4b39-b2f1-7a76911c77f7.jpg)
According to Cambodia’s state-run AKP news agency on Oct. 11, the Kampot Provincial Prosecutor’s Office indicted three Chinese nationals in their 30s and 40s on charges of murder and fraud the previous day. The suspects are accused of killing a Korean university student in his 20s near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
![Rep. Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party, shown in the image, questions chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Yoon Chang-ryeol about the abduction of a Korean national in Cambodia during a parliamentary audit by the National Policy Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/18/2710901b-42cb-48ae-a7e5-cb83a2696e36.jpg)
Rep. Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party, shown in the image, questions chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Yoon Chang-ryeol about the abduction of a Korean national in Cambodia during a parliamentary audit by the National Policy Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 13. [YONHAP]
Hwang criticized the government’s delayed response to the case.
“Now they’re rushing to form a task force and dispatch investigators to Cambodia, but it’s too late. It feels like they’re only reacting because the case became a public issue,” Hwang said. “Law enforcement officers should be working to win a real war on crime — not just chasing performance numbers. We need a serious, preventive crime-fighting system in place.”
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 KIM JUNG-SEOK, LEE YOUNG-KEUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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