The killing of 24-year-old South Korean student Park Min-ho in Cambodia has ignited public anger and exposed the widening reach of criminal networks luring Koreans into online scam operations across Southeast Asia. Park, who traveled to Cambodia in July believing he was attending a career event, was later found dead near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province on August 8, his body showing signs of violent abuse, according to Cambodian police.
Investigators said Park was deceived by a fraudulent job offer linked to a transnational ring that traps young Koreans in forced labor for online fraud. His murder, one of dozens in recent years, has renewed scrutiny of both governments for failing to stop what experts describe as an industrial-scale kidnapping and trafficking crisis.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said incidents of kidnapping or unlawful detention involving Koreans in Cambodia surged from four in 2021 to 330 in the first eight months of 2025-a near hundredfold increase. Thousands more remain missing. Government data show that more than 3,200 South Koreans who traveled to Cambodia in 2024 never returned home, and at least 80 remain unaccounted for this year.
Local reports suggest the real toll may be even higher. A South Korean resident in Sihanoukville told The Diplomat that at least one Korean is found dead every month in the coastal city, which has become a hub for cybercrime operations. Earlier this month, a Korean tourist was discovered dead in a Sihanoukville hotel in what police described as a suspected suicide.
Seoul has responded to mounting outrage by escalating diplomatic and security pressure on Phnom Penh. On October 16, the Foreign Ministry issued a "code black" travel advisory for several Cambodian regions, including Poipet, Bavet, and Kampot Province. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na subsequently met Cambodian officials in Phnom Penh, urging greater cooperation in locating missing citizens and dismantling online scam syndicates.
Cambodian authorities have since arrested dozens of suspects and deported around 60 Korean nationals, who arrived in Seoul under police escort on October 18. Prosecutors in Seoul say some returnees may not be victims but accomplices suspected of managing or facilitating illegal operations.
Officials describe the scam networks as highly organized, with corporate-style hierarchies involving syndicate bosses, recruiters, IT technicians, and local brokers. Crimes include cryptocurrency fraud, romance scams, and cross-border voice phishing schemes targeting victims across Asia. Cambodian prosecutors have charged three Chinese nationals in connection with Park's murder, while two others remain at large.
Recruitment typically begins through messaging platforms such as KakaoTalk, where job seekers are offered lucrative positions and assistance with travel. Upon arrival, victims are often confined in guarded compounds, stripped of passports and phones, and in some cases sold to other operators for thousands of dollars.
A small number of Koreans, however, are believed to have joined the schemes willingly. "Many Koreans are aware they're engaging in illegal operations," said Jeon Dae-sik, vice president of the Asian Federation of Korean Business in Cambodia, in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.
