Home > National > Social Affairs

Jury trial to be held for Korean university student accused of offering job to schoolmate killed in Cambodia

Published: 24 Oct. 2025, 15:53

Forensic officials from Korea’s National Forensic Service, Korean police investigators and local Cambodian authorities observe the cremation of Park, a Korean college student who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by a criminal syndicate in Cambodia, at a public crematorium in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork District on Oct. 20. [YONHAP]

A jury trial will take place for a university student in his 20s accused of offering another student a job in Cambodia that allegedly led to his death, the Andong branch of the Daegu District Court said Friday.

The suspect, surnamed Hong, was a university senior of the victim, a 22-year-old man surnamed Park, who was found dead in Cambodia on Aug. 8. He has been indicted for violating online fraud laws. Hong allegedly received a bank account from Park that was later used by a criminal syndicate operating in Cambodia.

The court said it opted for a jury trial “due to the public attention the case has drawn” and noted the importance of allowing a panel of jurors to weigh in on key issues. Hong’s counsel requested a jury trial on Wednesday, which onlookers view as a way to lower his sentence by appealing to public sympathy.

A court date has not yet been set.

Police are continuing to investigate a second suspect, also in their 20s, who allegedly played a critical role in sending the victim to Cambodia. They were arrested on Oct. 16 in Incheon and are accused of receiving Park’s account information from Hong, persuading him to open a new bank account, and arranging his travel overseas.

Park left Korea on July 17, telling his family he was attending an expo. He was later allegedly detained and tortured in a notorious criminal compound in Cambodia, and found dead in a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province on Aug. 8.

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 EUN-BIN [[email protected]]