Seoul, October 20, 2025 – In a significant escalation of bilateral efforts to dismantle Southeast Asia's burgeoning cyberscam industry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun announced on Monday that ten South Korean nationals had been arrested in Cambodia for their alleged roles in sophisticated online fraud operations. Two others were rescued from captivity during the same raids, highlighting the dual nature of victims and perpetrators ensnared in these criminal networks. The detentions occurred last Thursday in Phnom Penh and surrounding areas, with the suspects slated for repatriation to South Korea later this week, Cho confirmed during a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This development comes mere days after Cambodia repatriated 64 South Korean citizens accused of involvement in large-scale "pig butchering" scams – a deceptive scheme where fraudsters cultivate long-term relationships with victims, often through romance or investment lures, before absconding with their funds via fake cryptocurrency platforms. The group arrived at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight on October 18, where they were immediately taken into custody by South Korean police officers, who handcuffed them upon deplaning. A police spokesperson described the scene as a "coordinated operation to ensure swift justice," noting that under South Korean law, arrests could be executed on the aircraft itself, treated as national territory.
The National Police Agency (NPA) has since sought arrest warrants for 59 of the repatriated individuals, while five are being evaluated as potential victims of human trafficking. Park Sung-joo, head of the National Office of Investigation, detailed the suspects' alleged crimes, which encompass voice phishing – where scammers impersonate authorities to extract financial information – romance scams, and "no-show" frauds involving ghost employment schemes. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac emphasized the complexity of the cases, stating that the deportees included "both voluntary and involuntary participants," some of whom were coerced through threats of violence or debt bondage.
Seoul's Foreign Ministry estimates that approximately 1,000 South Koreans are entangled in Cambodia's scam ecosystem, part of a staggering 200,000 workers across the region, many operating from fortified compounds resembling prisons. Since last year, around 550 South Koreans have been reported missing or held against their will after responding to enticing job ads on social media platforms like KakaoTalk or LinkedIn, promising salaries up to 5 million won ($3,700) monthly for "customer service" roles in Southeast Asia. Cho revealed that ongoing searches aim to locate about 80 nationals still unaccounted for, with 63 believed to be in Cambodian detention following recent raids.
The "pig butchering" tactic, originating from Chinese criminal slang likening victims to livestock fattened for slaughter, has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. Scammers, often young adults in their 20s and 30s, use scripted personas to build trust over weeks or months. Victims are encouraged to invest in bogus crypto apps, with initial small payouts to hook them before massive withdrawals drain their savings. U.S. authorities estimate Americans alone lost $10 billion to these scams in 2024, a 66% surge from the prior year. In South Korea, losses from voice phishing topped 1.2 trillion won ($880 million) last year, with Cambodia emerging as a primary hub due to lax enforcement and economic incentives for local officials.
Cambodia's scam centers, concentrated in coastal enclaves like Sihanoukville and Poipet, have ballooned from shuttered casinos into high-tech fraud factories. Amnesty International documented 53 such compounds in a recent report, accusing the Cambodian government of complicity through inaction. Workers face barbaric conditions: barbed-wire enclosures, 16-hour shifts, and punishments including beatings, electrocution, or forced organ harvesting, according to survivor testimonies compiled by the Korea Times. One repatriated individual, speaking anonymously to Al Jazeera, recounted being trafficked after a fake job interview: "They took our passports, beat us if we resisted, and made us call family members back home to wire money. Refusal meant torture."
This crackdown's urgency stems from national outrage over the August death of 22-year-old university student Park Min-ho, whose body was discovered in a pickup truck near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province. Park, a Seoul National University engineering major, had been lured by a bogus employment agency offering tech support gigs. Instead, he was confined to a scam compound, where he endured severe torture – including multiple fractures and burns – before his murder, Cambodian prosecutors ruled. Three Chinese nationals face murder and fraud charges, while a South Korean suspect in his 20s was arrested last Sunday for orchestrating Park's recruitment and bank account setup. Park's family, denied access to his remains for over two months, described the delay as "killing him twice," prompting President Lee Jae-myung to demand a joint autopsy led by Korean forensic experts, now underway in Phnom Penh.
Park's case ignited a firestorm in South Korea, where reported kidnappings skyrocketed from 17 in 2023 to 330 by August 2025. Protests outside the Cambodian embassy in Seoul drew thousands, chanting "Bring our youth home" and decrying government complacency. In response, South Korea imposed a "code-black" travel ban on October 15 for high-risk zones like Sihanoukville, barring citizens from non-essential trips and threatening passport revocation for violators. A high-level delegation, including NPA investigators and diplomats, met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet last week, securing pledges for intelligence-sharing and joint raids. Cambodian Interior Ministry spokesman Touch Sokhak hailed the repatriation as "fruitful cooperation," though critics like UNODC's Jeremy Douglas argue smaller Korean-run rings evade larger Chinese syndicates' scrutiny.
The international scope amplifies the crisis. On October 14, the U.S. Treasury and UK's FCDO sanctioned Cambodia's Prince Group conglomerate, designating it a transnational criminal organization for laundering scam proceeds, including $15 billion in seized cryptocurrency – the DOJ's largest forfeiture ever. Chairman Chen Zhi, a UK-Cambodian tycoon, faces indictments for exploiting forced labor in "pig butchering" and sextortion rackets. Parallel operations thrive in Myanmar, Laos, and the Philippines, where the U.N. estimates 100,000 trafficked individuals toil in similar hellscapes.
Experts warn the true toll may dwarf official figures. The Ministry of Justice now suspects over 1,000 Koreans are involved, including undocumented cases of cremated bodies or unreported deaths. VnExpress interviews with survivors paint a grim picture: one woman, forced into romance scams, witnessed peers electrocuted for low quotas; another man described daily extortion demands relayed to families via coerced video calls.
As investigations deepen, South Korea pledges continued vigilance. "This is not just about arrests; it's about dismantling a system preying on our vulnerable youth," Cho declared. With arrest warrants pending and more repatriations anticipated, the saga underscores the perils of globalization's underbelly, where digital dreams turn deadly. Families await closure, while authorities race to prevent the next tragedy in Cambodia's shadowed scam empire.
