Overview
- South Korea’s intelligence service told lawmakers it identified and is tracking a principal suspect in the case, assessing him as an accomplice in a 2023 Gangnam meth-laced drink scheme and confirming he remains at large.
- The NIS estimated 1,000–2,000 South Koreans are involved in Cambodia-based scams, cited about 50 compounds with roughly 200,000 people, and noted 57 Koreans among 3,075 arrests there in June–July.
- The cremated remains of the student, surnamed Park, arrived in Korea 74 days after his death following a joint autopsy that found extensive bruising but no organ removal, with the cause pending tissue and toxicology tests.
- Prosecutors sought arrest warrants for 58 of 64 Koreans repatriated from Cambodia in a recent chartered return, and courts have detained roughly four dozen after pretrial hearings.
- A video showing a distressed Korean man in Sihanoukville prompted embassy checks, while a separate Korean man in his 50s was found dead in a hotel room that authorities currently view as likely unrelated to scam rings; the area carries a Level 3 travel warning.