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Korean missionary living in Cambodia tells others 'do not come' amid fake jobs, kidnappings

Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 09:27

Chinese nationals suspected of torturing and killing a Korean university student in Cambodia in August 2025 are arrested by Cambodian police, according to the AKP news agency. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A missionary who helped rescue dozens of Koreans who were lured by fake job offers and then kidnapped and detained in Cambodia warned young Koreans not to come to the country, saying there is “nothing here worth doing.”

"There is no job in an underdeveloped country that will earn you 10 million won [$7,000] a month," said Pastor Oh Chang-su, head of the Korean expatriate community in Sihanoukville, in an interview with YTN Radio on Monday. “Here, you can hire a housekeeper for just $200 to $300 a month, or about 280,000 to 420,000 won. Any offer promising more than that is a scam.”

According to Oh, most victims are lured by online job ads, travel to the country and have their passports confiscated upon arrival. They are then forced, under threats and violence, to work in voice phishing or illegal gambling operations.

“Koreans fetch the highest prices among the crime rings,” Oh said. “That’s because they generate high profits from voice phishing. That's why each Korean is sold for more than $10,000 to Chinese voice phishing organizations."

"I've already rescued more than 50 Koreans this year alone, most of whom came to Cambodia after falling for fake job offers," Oh continued, saying that most of the victims turned out to have been scammed into coming for jobs.

“In the past, most cases involved people borrowing money at casinos and asking for help from Chinese nationals,” he said. “But after seeing 30 to 40 cases last year and already more than 50 this year, I started to suspect something was off.”

On the recent case of a Korean university student who died after being kidnapped, detained and tortured by a Chinese criminal group in Bokor Mountain, Kampot Province, Oh said, “That area has already been turned into a hub for online crime by Chinese mafia organizations.” He added, “It’s like a fortress — even Papillon couldn’t escape from there. There are probably still Koreans inside waiting to be rescued.”

Oh also expressed concern that there are currently only three Korean police officers posted in Cambodia. “We urgently need a Korean Desk,” he said. “We need to station our officers at the Phnom Penh police headquarters so that they can cooperate and conduct joint investigations.”

He stressed that while rescuing victims is important, preventing them from coming in the first place is even more so. “People come here to make money, but end up being tortured, beaten and killed,” he said. “Please, do not come.”

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 JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]