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Korean authorities arrest five members of Cambodian romance scam ring in Vietnam

Published: 04 Nov. 2025, 10:54 Updated: 04 Nov. 2025, 18:20

The National Police Agency building in Seodaemun District, western Seoul [NEWS1]

Members of a criminal organization that operated a romance scam ring based in Cambodia have been arrested in Vietnam.

The National Police Agency said Tuesday that, in cooperation with Vietnamese authorities, five members of the group were apprehended on Oct. 28 in Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Khanh Hoa Province. The group, based in Bavet — a Cambodian city near the Vietnamese border — is accused of defrauding 192 victims in Korea through romance scams, taking in a total of 4.6 billion won ($3.2 million).

Police had earlier sent requests to Vietnam and other neighboring countries, warning that some members of the organization might flee Cambodia amid heightened crackdowns there.

According to the agency, a Korean police officer operating in Da Nang began tracking a man in his 20s who had been reported missing and was later confirmed to be a key member of the group and the subject of an Interpol red notice. Another man in his 20s staying with the man at a hotel in Da Nang was also identified as a wanted suspect.

Working with the Da Nang Public Security Department, Korean investigators arrested those two men along with another member living nearby. On the same day, police in Ho Chi Minh City, acting on intelligence about illegal entry into the country, caught another member of the group in his 20s, while immigration officials in Khanh Hoa Province arrested a man in his 30s on charges of illegally entering Vietnam.

“The Vietnamese authorities have strong law enforcement capabilities against foreign criminals, and our cooperative framework with the Korean police remains stable through a constant communication channel,” a Korean police officer in Vietnam said.

Lee Jae-young, director general for international cooperation at the National Police Agency, said the arrests were “a concrete result of close international coordination between the two countries at a time when scam crimes are spreading across Southeast Asia.” Lee added that the agency will continue to strengthen cooperation between Korean investigators and local law enforcement to eradicate cross-border scam crimes and protect Korean nationals abroad.

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 JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]