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Cambodian police detain 10 more Koreans suspected of scam involvement

Published: 20 Oct. 2025, 16:40

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, left, speaks with other participants during a ministerial meeting on public safety and security at the government complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Cambodian police have additionally detained more than 10 Koreans suspected of running online scam operations and rescued two others who had been held captive, Korea’s foreign minister said Monday.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the arrests took place on Thursday during a local police raid targeting online fraud networks.

Two Koreans who had reported being confined were freed in a separate operation that same day and are expected to return home later this week, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Cho said Seoul will boost its consular response to such incidents by adding around 40 new consular officers. For now, staff from other Southeast Asian missions will rotate through Cambodia to help handle the situation.

The ministry also plans to introduce an early warning system across the region to identify similar cases to move beyond the current practice of identifying cases only after victims come to embassies.

“The Cambodian government is fully aware of the situation [...] and is cooperating well,” Cho said. “They are concerned that ignoring the issue could hurt their tourism industry. We believe we can manage this effectively through close coordination with Cambodian authorities.”

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 HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]