South Korea imposes travel ban to parts of Cambodia amid surge in kidnappings related to employment scams

South Korea has issued a travel ban to parts of Cambodia after a surge in employment scams led to the death of a young South Korean, who was abducted and forced to work in the industrial-scale cyber-scam centers.

The code-black travel ban (the most serious level) covers several areas, including the border towns of provinces Poipet, Bavet, as well as Kampot, where a 22-year-old Korean student had allegedly been held captive and then tortured to death in August.

Over the course of the first eight months of this year, South Korean officials have received reports of the abduction or captivity of 330 South Korean nationals, a jump from the 220 reported for all of 2024. Many of these people have been forced to work in the so-called “online scam centers”, targeting individuals worldwide.

Approximately 60 South Koreans are detained in Cambodia on online scam centers-related charges after a crackdown on scam operations, while another 80 are missing. The country’s government announced that it will be working with the South Korean embassy to repatriate 59 people.

South Korean officials announced that returnees will face “investigation and judicial measures depending on their level of involvement” in the criminal networks, according to The BBC.

Large-scale raids

Cambodian authorities arrested more than 1,000 potential cybercrime suspects in July after raids in at least five provinces.

"The government has observed that online scams are currently causing threats and insecurity in the world and the region," Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, said in a statement at the time.

"In Cambodia, foreign criminal groups have also infiltrated to engage in online scams."

People are typically lured into online scam centers run by criminal gangs with promises of high-paying jobs. Even if they later wish to leave, they often can’t – forced into the loop of becoming victims and offenders at the same time.

The body of one such victim, Park Min-ho, was found in August in a pickup truck in the southern Cambodian province of Kampot, although it has still not been returned. South Korea’s foreign ministry announced that Hun Manet had “expressed his deep regret and sorrow” and “stated that he would make even greater efforts to arrest the suspects currently at large and to protect South Korean nationals in Cambodia”.

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina has reportedly requested that Cambodia return Park Min-ho’s body and repatriate South Korean citizens involved in scam operations.

According to the country’s estimation, Cambodia’s scam centers employ around 200,000 people, including a thousand South Koreans.