South Korea has repatriated 73 citizens suspected of involvement in a scammer network in Cambodia for investigation, marking the largest repatriation of South Korean criminal suspects to date.
These suspects are part of approximately 260 South Koreans arrested in Cambodia during a crackdown on online scam networks over the past several months.
The South Korean government stated that these 73 suspects are suspected of jointly defrauding victims, mostly fellow South Koreans, causing total damages estimated at 48.6 billion won, or about 1.29 billion baht.
After arriving at Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight, all suspects—comprising 65 men and 8 women—were taken to various police stations nationwide for separate interrogations according to 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 over scam centers in Southeast Asia erupted strongly 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 stated that the man died after being severely tortured and assaulted, prompting the Seoul government to send a high-level delegation to Cambodia in October to discuss joint measures against online crime networks. South Korea affirmed its commitment to coordinate with Southeast Asian neighbors to seriously dismantle these fraudulent networks.
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