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7h ago

South Korea Sends Joint Team to Cambodia, Targets One‑Month Repatriation of 63 Detainees

Seoul escalates its response to a surge in recruitment‑scam cases following a high‑profile killing.

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Suspects have their hands zip-tied after being detained during a police raid on a scam centre in Phnom Penh on July 16. Photo: EPA
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (R) listens to a lawmaker's question about crimes targeting South Koreans in Cambodia during an audit by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 13, 2025. (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji‑na will lead a multi‑agency team departing Wednesday with National Police Agency and National Intelligence Service officers to coordinate repatriations and joint probes.
  • The presidential office said 63 South Koreans are in Cambodian custody, with plans for a special flight to bring them home and investigations to follow upon return.
  • The National Police Agency launched a government‑wide task force that aims to repatriate the 63 within a month, send additional liaison officers, review 255 unfiled cases and brief travelers at Incheon Airport.
  • Seoul is consulting Phnom Penh on boosting embassy police staffing and creating a permanent Korean Desk within Cambodian police, though officials say Cambodia has not yet agreed.
  • Authorities report 330 cases through August with about 80 people unverified; Cambodian prosecutors have indicted three Chinese suspects in the student’s death, and Korean police are probing a domestic recruiter linked to the case.