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PPP leader criticizes Foreign Ministry response to Cambodia abduction cases

Published: 23 Oct. 2025, 16:26

People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog speaks during a press conference at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport after returning from an on-site parliamentary audit in Cambodia on Oct. 23. [NEWS1]

People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog called for Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun to step down, citing suspicions of perjury during a recent parliamentary audit regarding cases of Korean nationals abducted in Cambodia.

“What we confirmed on the ground was that the Foreign Ministry under the Lee Jae Myung administration was utterly incompetent and irresponsible,” said Song, speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Thursday morning after completing an on-site audit by the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in Cambodia.

“In yesterday’s audit, we confirmed that the first telegram sent by the Cambodian embassy on Aug. 11 included a statement saying that, based on a medical opinion, the victim was believed to have died of a heart attack after suffering severe pain due to torture,” Song said.

“I don’t know whether the Foreign Minister thought this telegram was so trivial that it posed no issue, or if he lied to the public,” Song added.

“The discrepancy between the Foreign Ministry’s explanation during the audit and the facts confirmed on site by the embassy raises the possibility that there may have been perjury committed to avoid responsibility for the citizen’s death,” he argued.

During an Oct. 13 audit, Cho said the embassy had initially reported the incident as a general accident.

Song further criticized the failure to appoint a new ambassador after the July recall of several top diplomats by Lee saying, “The root cause of this crisis lies in the president’s failure to name a replacement.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun speaks during a meeting with his Swedish counterpart, Malmer Stenergard, not pictured, at the Foreign Ministry building in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 16. [NEWS1]

“The ambassadorial post in Cambodia has been vacant for four months, resulting in uncoordinated responses and delays in recognizing and following up on the Korean citizen’s death,” Song said.

“Even though more than 330 reports of confinement were received by the embassy by August, the cases have not even been properly categorized,” Song continued. “This shows a complete failure of management. Our diplomatic authorities are paralyzed, with no grasp on who is executing these organized crimes or what the current status is.”

Song emphasized that high-level communication with the Cambodian government is essential to resolving the situation, saying, “Senior officials from the Foreign Ministry — or even the presidential office — must directly engage with top Cambodian officials.”

He also criticized the Foreign Ministry’s selective responsiveness, pointing out that while the embassy failed to act on the July 25 report concerning the case of a university student surnamed Park — which triggered the broader Cambodia incident — a request made by Democratic Party Rep. Park Chan-dae led to a successful rescue by Aug. 9.

“Cho has demonstrated incompetence in handling this case and must take responsibility and decide his own fate,” Song said, adding that “he must also be held legally accountable for the false testimony given during the audit.”

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]]