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Korean man rescued from Thai voice phishing ring after mother contacts police

Published: 01 Feb. 2026, 15:55 Updated: 01 Feb. 2026, 16:17

The Korean police's logo as seen on an officer [YONHAP]

A man who traveled to Thailand to earn money and was allegedly confined by a local voice phishing ring was rescued after his mother contacted the police.

Police received an emergency report at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday from the man’s mother in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, saying her son had called her in tears from Thailand and appeared to be detained, the Pocheon Police Precinct said Sunday.

The man managed to contact his mother by pretending that his father was critically ill and used the call to ask for help, police said.

After receiving the report, detectives from the Pocheon Police Precinct’s violent crimes team immediately met with the man’s mother to assess the situation. The team leader then continued phone calls with the man while pretending to be the man’s uncle, allowing police to secure key clues, including the location of the lodging where he was being held.

Although it was late at night, police contacted a Korean consul in Thailand through diplomatic channels and requested cooperation from Thai police. Local police officers and consular officials were dispatched and, at around 2 a.m. Wednesday, lured the man outside by pretending to be an acquaintance of a relative before taking him into protective custody.

The man was reported to be in stable condition with no serious health issues and returned to Korea late that afternoon.

He had left for Bangkok on Monday after seeing a Telegram advertisement promoting a "high-paying job at a Thai design company." Shortly after arriving, he was taken to a motel in central Bangkok, where he was confined to a room and forced to undergo training related to voice phishing crimes.

Following the rescue, the Pocheon Police Precinct’s violent crimes team also asked Thai authorities to investigate members of the organization at the site. Police said they cooperated in the arrest of seven suspects, including five Korean nationals, one Chinese national and one Thai national.

Police plan to summon the man soon to determine the exact circumstances of the case and the scale of the organization.

"Crimes using overseas high-paying job offers as bait continue to occur," police said. "People must be extremely cautious when approached with overseas employment proposals from unclear sources."

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 BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]