A recent case involving a 22-year-old Korean university student shocked South Korean public opinion. The student came from Gyeongsangbuk, Yecheon County, and died unfortunately in Cambodia in August a few weeks after he disappeared. South Korea and Cambodian officials both believe the student was a victim of a professional abduction, a case linked to a multinational fraud hub in the province of Kampot, Cambodia.
The identity of the victim has not been made public and is only referred to as "A" by South Korean media and officials. Documents from the local procuratorate show that the victim was a South Korean citizen surnamed Park. Preliminary forensic examination showed that the victim died of torture.
On October 11th, the police in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province announced that they had arrested several transnational "money mule" intermediary suspects who might be related to the case. The "money mule" refers to the pattern of tricking victims into renting out bank accounts to criminal organizations for illegal transactions. People who rent out bank accounts are often referred to as "money mules".
Investigators believe that A had previously been contacted by some means with the intermediary of the criminal gang. After winning the trust of A, the criminal gang seduced him to go to Cambodia for "easy high-paying jobs" and convinced him there were more opportunities to make money in the information technology industry, which is a professional scam hub.
On July 17, Cambodian police attacked a cyber fraud hub in Orange Province.
On July 17th, A informed his family that he flew to Cambodia for a holiday and attended an exhibition by the way. However, about a week later, the family received an anonymous phone call from a man speaking Korean with a Chinese accent.
“He got in trouble here and was caught by us.Give me 50 million won ($35,000) and we let him go,” he said.
The family immediately called the police and contacted the Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh to start the search operation. South Korean officials intervened in the investigation, but could not determine the location of A.
Four days later, the kidnappers cut off contact with their families because they had not received the ransom. On August 8, about two weeks after the extortion gang's last call, Cambodia police found the boy's body in a pickup truck near núi Bokor, an area notorious for its large number of cybercrime and job-seeking fraud gangs. Local officials determined that the cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by severe torture.
Two months after the body was found, the Korean student's body has not been transported back to China because the forensic examination and verification procedures between the two countries have not yet been completed. The police in Gyeongbuk Province said that they would cooperate with the National Institute of Scientific Search and the Cambodian police to conduct a joint autopsy to determine the cause of death and assist the remains to return to China.
South Korean citizen A was kidnapped and tortured to death. All three suspects are Chinese citizens
At least three Chinese suspects have been arrested in Cambodia in connection with the deaths of South Korean students. These were identified as members of the Bogo Mountain Scam Center, which has detained A and 14 other South Korean citizens. Police seized a large number of electronic devices, mobile phones and documents, proving that the hub was specialized in both telephone scams and scams to collect personal information.
"A was brutally beaten until he couldn't breathe. I heard that he died in the car on the way to the hospital," a witness who was detained with A in Boge Mountain and was one of the 14 rescued Korean citizens told the office of Park Chan-dae, a member of the Common Democratic Party.
The family of the Korean student sent a letter of help to Senator Park Yong-chen in the first few days after learning that their son had been kidnapped.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea also confirmed to Congressman Park's office that in the first eight months of this year, the number of cases of Korean citizens kidnapped or illegally detained in Cambodia has reached 330, a sharp increase from 221 cases last year and 36 cases during 2021-2023. The victims were mainly tricked into Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Bokor.
Faced with the increasing concentration of fraud crimes against South Korean citizens, Co-Democrat Lee Jae-myung has called on the government to “deploy all diplomatic resources to protect Cambodian citizens from crime”.
South Korean police also proposed the establishment of a “Korean office” in Cambodia, similar to the model already implemented in the Philippines and Thailand, to support citizens and investigate related cases.
The Cambodian interior ministry said on October 12 that it would continue to cooperate with the South Korean embassy in the Gombou case, “continuing to investigate and arrest all remaining suspects and comrades to ensure justice is delivered.”