October 22, 2025
SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered a more aggressive response to international voice phishing scams, calling for stronger and more comprehensive countermeasures in light of recent revelations involving South Korean nationals detained and exploited by criminal syndicates in Cambodia.
While acknowledging that voice phishing and transnational crimes have existed for years, Lee said the extent and organization of the latest scams, including the abduction and exploitation of Korean nationals, was alarming.
“We need to approach this issue with a fundamentally different way of thinking — whether it’s the Foreign Ministry, the police or the prosecution,” said Lee, directly addressing Minister of Government Policy Coordination Yoon Chang-yul, who oversees anti-fraud efforts.
Lee added that he has given the National Intelligence Service a separate order regarding such crimes, as such cases of international crimes fall under the agency’s jurisdiction.
Earlier on the same day, the cremated remains of a South Korean college student, identified by his surname Park, were repatriated to Korea, 74 days after he was found dead in Cambodia. He is believed to have been tortured and killed.
Park’s family did not turn up at the airport, and police did not organize a press briefing out of respect for their wishes.
The repatriation of Park’s remains came just a day after the joint autopsy was conducted in Phnom Penh’s Buddhist temple, Tuek Thla Pagoda, by a team of six investigators from Korea and Cambodia. Following the autopsy, the body was cremated before being returned to Korea.
According to police officials, Park had been lured to Cambodia under false pretenses and detained in what authorities described as a scam compound — part of a widespread criminal network in Southeast Asia that forces abducted foreign nationals into committing online fraud.
Park was later found dead in a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot, with local police stating that his body showed clear signs of torture, including bruises and wounds. Following the autopsy on Monday, Korean authorities confirmed that there were no signs of organ harvesting or mutilation of Park’s body.
Authorities added that Park’s exact cause of death will be determined after further pathological and toxicological analysis in Korea, in combination with the ongoing investigations in both countries.
According to Yonhap News Agency, three additional bodies of Korean nationals are currently stored at the Buddhist temple.
“Aside from the Korean student who was cremated (on Monday), there are still three Korean bodies stored in the refrigerated mortuary,” said a staff member in charge of cremation at the Tuek Thla Pagoda, as quoted by Yonhap. The staff member added that the facility has the capacity to hold up to 100 bodies and is currently near full capacity.
Of the 59 suspects detained upon their recent entry into Korea, the KNPA added that 48 individuals have been held for their alleged involvement in scam-related criminal operations as of Tuesday, after undergoing pretrial detention hearings Monday.
Ten remaining suspects connected to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency’s investigations attended warrant hearings at the Uijeongbu District Court on Tuesday morning, with hearing results expected to be released as early as Tuesday evening.
The 10 suspects are believed to have taken part in romance scam schemes conducted in March and April.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com