Seoul: Two additional South Korean nationals have been rescued in Cambodia as part of an ongoing crackdown on online scams, with around 10 more nationals arrested, South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun announced on Monday. This development follows the repatriation of over 60 South Korean nationals linked to these crimes from Cambodia.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea is intensifying efforts to combat organized crime targeting its citizens. This comes in the wake of the death of a South Korean college student, allegedly killed after being tortured by an online job scam ring, which has ignited public outrage. Cambodian authorities apprehended about 10 South Koreans suspected of involvement in the crimes during their crackdown on Thursday. On the same day, two other Koreans, believed to be victims, were rescued and are set to be repatriated this week.
Foreign Minister Cho stated that the foreign ministry plans to employ 40 additional consular personnel to better address incidents similar to the online scams in Cambodia. The ministry also intends to deploy consular officials from South Korean diplomatic missions in neighboring countries on a rotational basis to manage the increased workload related to these crimes.
In an effort to provide swifter and more efficient consular access for Korean nationals in urgent need, the ministry is set to launch an "early warning system" for the Southeast Asian region. "The early warning system is designed to expand our 24-hour overseas safety monitoring center run by the ministry's consular bureau, with a particular focus on online scam issues in Southeast Asia," said Cho.
Additionally, the ministry has initiated a comprehensive inspection of South Korean citizens connected to online scams worldwide to ascertain the total number involved. Despite the ongoing crisis, a senior foreign ministry official stated that South Korea's official development assistance (ODA) for Cambodia is unlikely to be affected. "Linking this incident to ODA would not be consistent with our national standing, and it could make it seem as though we are using ODA as a bargaining tool, so we will not do that," the official noted, though they did mention potential ODA use to bolster Cambodia's public security capacity.
The escalation of the online scam crisis has sparked debate over the appropriateness of continuing ODA programs for Cambodia. South Korea had previously quadrupled its low-interest loan program for Cambodia under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund during the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The Cambodian government is reportedly aware of the situation and is cooperating to prevent any negative impact on its tourism industry. "We believe we can respond effectively through close consultations with the Cambodian government," an official said.