President Lee warns transnational scammers they will be 'ruined' if they 'mess with Koreans'
Published: 30 Jan. 2026, 17:27
![President Lee Jae Myung points during a New Year’s press conference at the Yeongbingwan state guest house at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 21 attended by some 160 Korean and foreign journalists. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/30/b146190c-6ef9-4e1a-b32c-1d7e2ca14236.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung points during a New Year’s press conference at the Yeongbingwan state guest house at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 21 attended by some 160 Korean and foreign journalists. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
President Lee Jae Myung reiterated a hard-line stance against transnational scam crimes on Friday, warning that anyone who targets Koreans will face severe consequences.
“If you mess with Koreans, you will be ruined. Do you think I’m bluffing?” Lee wrote on X while sharing an article that said Chinese scam rings operating in Cambodia have stopped recruiting Koreans out of fear of a crackdown by Korean authorities.
“The Republic of Korea does what it says it will do — to the end,” Lee added, using the country’s official name.
He also posted the message in Khmer.
![President Lee Jae Myung's post in Khmer on social media platform X [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/30/e7d00588-7b82-4429-ae19-0088a7f03564.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung's post in Khmer on social media platform X [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Lee’s remarks followed a visit earlier this week to the office of the Special Response Task Force on Transnational Crime at the Changseong-dong annex of the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul. During the visit on Monday, he encouraged officials to actively publicize the government’s stance, including through cooperation with local media in Southeast Asia.
Lee also said various scam crimes are destroying people’s lives and becoming increasingly sophisticated, ordering authorities to respond even more strictly to overseas scam operations.
The task force, launched at Lee’s direction, serves as an interagency command center, with 10 organizations, including the National Intelligence Service, prosecutors and police working together.
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]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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