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Trafficker sentenced to 10 years for luring acquaintance to Cambodia’s crime ring

Published: 22 Oct. 2025, 11:32 Updated: 22 Oct. 2025, 19:04

The Mango compound, known as one of the main criminal enclaves in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is seen on Oct. 15 in this file photo. [NEWS1]

A person in their 20s was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for luring an acquaintance to Cambodia and handing them over to a voice phishing crime ring based there.

The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division sentenced the defendant, identified only by the surname Shin, to 10 years in prison for luring and transporting a victim abroad and joint confinement.

Prosecutors had sought nine years, but the court imposed a heavier sentence.

Two accomplices, identified as Park and Kim, were sentenced to five years and three and a half years in prison, respectively.

"Park and Kim were under Shin’s threats and had no choice but to send the victim to Cambodia," the court said. "Even if they were under threat, it seems unlikely they did not know the victim could be detained by local accomplices."

According to the ruling, the three defendants approached the victim and proposed that they join a fraudulent scheme. When the victim refused, they handed the victim over to a Cambodian voice phishing organization.

The group deceived the victim by saying, “We’re working on a tourism business in Cambodia. If you go there and collect a contract, your debts will be cleared.”

After arriving, the victim was captured by members of the criminal ring, who confiscated the victim’s passport and phone and forced the victim to provide a bank account for their scams.

When the victim’s account was frozen, the group showed the victim videos of other account holders being tortured and threatened, “Tell your parents to send money to unfreeze the account and pay for the account setup.”

Park and others also contacted the victim’s parents via Telegram, demanding money while claiming they could help release the victim from the compound.

The victim was held captive for about 20 days at the criminal ring’s compound and a local lodging facility before being rescued with the help of the Korean Embassy in Cambodia.

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 SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]