Seoul: The body of a South Korean college student in his 20s, who was reportedly tortured to death by a local criminal organization in Cambodia, has not been returned home for two months, police and his family said Friday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the student, whose identity was withheld, was found dead in Cambodia on August 8 after he left for the Southeast Asian country on July 17. He had informed his family that he was going to attend an exhibition there. The location of the student's body was confirmed to be near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province, an area known for employment scams and detentions targeting South Koreans.

Cambodian police listed cardiac arrest, resulting from torture and extreme pain, as the cause of death on his death certificate. A week after the student's departure, a blackmailer speaking Korean with a Korean Chinese accent contacted his family. The blackmailer demanded 50 million won (approximately US$35,200), claiming the student had caused trouble and needed to resolve it. Communication with the blackmailer ceased after four days, and the student was found dead two weeks later.

The student's body has remained in Cambodia for two months. The South Korean foreign ministry has requested a swift investigation by Cambodian authorities. The police dispatched an officer to Cambodia last month to identify and repatriate the body, but efforts have been delayed due to cooperation issues with the Cambodian government. It has been reported that the student's body has not yet undergone an autopsy.

Reports indicate that many young foreigners visiting Cambodia have fallen victim to online job scams orchestrated by human traffickers. These criminals lure individuals into illegal cyber fraud schemes and hold them captive. In response, South Korea recently raised the travel alert for Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province and other regions in Cambodia due to concerns over increasing cases of employment scams and confinement.