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South Korea summons Cambodian envoy to express concern over complaint by a Korean college student Kidnapped and brutally tortured to death In a case that threatened to provoke a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
police inside south korea On Sunday he said he planned to conduct a joint autopsy with Cambodian authorities on a 22-year-old student from South Korea’s North Gyeongsang province who was found dead. cambodia In August, he was lured by a fake job offer. He entered the country on July 17 and died of heart failure due to torture two weeks later.
His family said they received a call from Cambodia a week after his departure, in which the callers demanded a ransom of 50 million won ($38,500) and claimed that the student had “caused trouble” and was detained.
event, linked to a Employment scams and organized crimeThe incident sparked outrage in South Korea and highlighted a rise in kidnappings targeting Korean citizens in the country.
On Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called Cambodian Ambassador Khuon Phon Ratanak to express concern over the student’s brutal death. He called on the Cambodian government to fully cooperate with South Korean authorities and take stronger measures against such scams.
This was a rare diplomatic move, as Seoul rarely summons ambassadors from other countries.
The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said in a statement that South Korean police and the National Forensic Service are working with Cambodian authorities on the possibility of conducting a joint autopsy of the student’s remains.
Yonhap reported that officials from the KNPA and Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency are planning to travel to Cambodia after scheduling is finalized with local authorities.
“The repatriation process will proceed after conducting an autopsy in accordance with intergovernmental procedures,” said Ahn Jung-man, a senior official at the Gyeongbuk provincial police agency. “We will focus on determining the exact cause of death and identifying those responsible for the crime.”
The student left his home in Yecheon after telling his family that he was going to Cambodia to participate in an exhibition.
It was later revealed that he was lured by “money mule” recruiters in South Korea, who tricked him into selling his bank account for fraudulent activities and persuaded him to travel abroad for a job opportunity in information technology or related fields.
A week later, his family received a threatening phone call from a man speaking Korean with a Chinese-Korean accent. According to the police, the caller demanded ransom.
The family immediately reported the incident to the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia and local police, but the student could not be located. The caller disconnected after four days.
On August 8, the student’s body was found inside a black car near the Bokor Mountains in southern Cambodia’s Kampot province – an area notorious for employment scams and forced labor in online fraud centers. Often referred to as the “pig slaughter” scam, Which often targets foreigners, especially South Koreans.
Cambodian officials and the South Korean embassy reported the cause of death as heart attack caused by severe torture.
The national police agency also said it would meet with its Cambodian counterpart later this month to discuss measures to prevent similar incidents.
Talks are scheduled for October 23, and NPA Commissioner General Park Sung-ju is reportedly considering a visit to Cambodia to assess the situation on the ground and enhance cooperation with local officials.
The agency said it also plans to strengthen international coordination to prevent such incidents by conducting joint cross-border operations with organizations such as Interpol and deploying an additional 30 officers to monitor foreign investigations.