Recently, the news that "Korean college students were kidnapped and blackmailed in Cambodia and finally tortured to death by criminal organizations" has aroused widespread concern in Korean society. It is reported that a 22-year-old Korean college student entered Cambodia during the summer vacation on July 17th. A week later, his family received a phone call claiming that the student had "caused trouble" and demanded a ransom of 50 million won. Two weeks later, the college student was found dead in Cambodia. A witness who had been locked up with him said he was beaten until he couldn't breathe.
To this end, South Korean Foreign Minister Zhao Xian summoned the Cambodian ambassador to South Korea on October 10th, expressed solemn concern about this incident and urged Cambodia to take countermeasures. According to reports, this is a rare diplomatic move, and Seoul rarely summons ambassadors from other countries.
On Monday, South Korean President Lee told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond through diplomatic means to ensure the safety of citizens.In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a special travel warning for the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
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"High-paying jobs" and "overseas employment" as bait
Cambodian criminal organization targets young Koreans
According to reports, Cambodian-related crime groups are now targeting South Korean youth aged 20 to 30. Criminal organizations are promoting people to Cambodia on social media with ads such as “high-paying jobs”, “work abroad” and then detaining them and forcing them to engage in criminal activities against South Koreans.
According to local residents in South Korea, more and more young Koreans are consciously going to Cambodia to participate in criminal activities. What's even more worrying is that Korean social media and job search websites have become "recruitment channels" for overseas criminal organizations, and most platforms have not yet taken action on such information.
Recently, a similar recruitment message appeared on a popular recruitment website in South Korea, where it read: “A minimum of 20 million yuan ($100,000) a month, a chance to change fate only once.” “A reporter found a way to contact the publisher under this recruitment information, the other said: “Please provide a copy of the passport first.” When asked whether it is safe, the other said: “Safe is reliable. Young people like you have become wealthy in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.” “But the other did not disclose the contents of the job.”
People familiar with the matter said that the South Korean college student who was recently tortured to death may have been lured there by South Korean recruiters in Cambodia, who persuaded him to go abroad to find so-called job opportunities in information technology or related fields and tricked him into engaging in fraud activities.
Crimes against South Korean citizens surge
South Korea plans to set up “business offices” in Cambodia
According to reports, in recent years there has been a surge in crimes such as hiring, kidnapping and detention of Korean citizens in Cambodia. South Korea’s official data showed that only two cases of kidnapping and detention of Korean citizens occurred in Cambodia in 2021. This number increased slightly between 2021 and 2023, with 11 cases in 2022 and 21 cases in 2023. But in 2024, the relevant criminal cases increased to 221. As of August this year, statistics showed that 330 cases of kidnapping and detention of Korean citizens occurred in Cambodia in 2025.
South Korean police announced on Monday plans to set up a Korean Desk in Cambodia to help victims. South Korean Affairs is known to be a special emergency team made up of South Korean police, which is expected to assist in cases where it is difficult for Cambodia to investigate on its own.
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According to the report, South Korea and Cambodia are expected to sign a memorandum during the talks, set up a "Korea Affairs Office" in Cambodia and send South Korean police to Cambodia. According to reports, South Korea has previously set up "Korea Affairs Office" in the Philippines and Thailand. At present, there are only three police officers in the Korean Embassy in Cambodia, which is not enough to effectively deal with the criminal risks faced by local Korean citizens.
It is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea is considering a plan to increase the number of police officers in Cambodia to implement the two-group system.The South Korean police are also pushing the Department of Police's National Investigation Secretary to visit Cambodia to understand the local situation on the ground and strengthen investigative cooperation with Cambodia, while planning to jointly carry out cross-border crime combat operations with organizations such as Interpol.
Red Star journalist Li Jinrui comprehensive reference news