South Korea has repatriated 73 citizens suspected of involvement in a scammer network in Cambodia to face investigation. This is the largest repatriation of South Korean crime suspects to date.
These suspects are part of approximately 260 South Koreans arrested in Cambodia during recent months as part of a crackdown on online fraud networks.
The South Korean government stated that the 73 suspects are accused of jointly defrauding victims, most of whom were fellow South Koreans, causing total damages of up to 48.6 billion won, approximately 1.29 billion baht.
After arriving at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight, all suspects—65 men and 8 women—were taken to various police stations across the country for separate interrogations based on their roles in the operation.
Officials said the investigation will cover the network’s structure, money laundering activities, and connections to transnational crime gangs in Southeast Asia.
Public outrage against scam centers in Southeast Asia surged sharply in South Korea last summer following reports that a South Korean student died in Cambodia, believed to have been forced to work in an online scam center.
At that time, South Korean authorities said the man died after being tortured and severely beaten. The Seoul government dispatched a high-level delegation to Cambodia in October to discuss joint measures against online crime networks. South Korea affirmed its commitment to cooperating with neighboring Southeast Asian countries to seriously dismantle these fraud networks.
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