Following President Lee Jae-myung’s directive, the government has been making all-out efforts to combat Cambodian scam crimes since October, resulting in the repatriation of 107 Korean suspects from Cambodia. The government has established a close cooperation system, positively influencing the Cambodian government’s stance on repatriating Korean suspects through diplomatic efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Intelligence Service, and the police.
Additionally, due to large-scale arrest operations conducted by the Cambodian government in July and September and the local visits by the joint response team from the Korean government, the cumulative number of Korean suspects arrested in Cambodia reached 154 by the end of November. Consequently, reports of our citizens being detained or missing in Cambodia, which numbered 93 in October when the joint response began, drastically decreased by over 80% to 17 in November as the response efforts started showing results.
To address Cambodian scam crimes, President Lee Jae-myung chaired a meeting of relevant ministers on October 23 and ordered the establishment of a special response headquarters involving eight agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Intelligence Service, and the Financial Services Commission. Since then, the government has continued strategic efforts, such as holding a Korea-Cambodia summit and opening a dedicated Korea task force.
The government will continue to respond firmly and strongly to transnational crimes that threaten the safety, lives, and livelihoods of our citizens, making it clear that any harm to Korean citizens will result in even greater losses for the perpetrators.