In response, South Korea has declared an entry ban on the three provinces in Cambodia. This move comes as the employment scam crisis deepens, with nearly 80 citizen cases still outstanding. Our “code black” prohibition warns South Korean citizens to exit regions where such scams and detention incidents are increasing. They need to work to evacuate areas such as the border towns of Poipet and Bavet, as well as the Bokor Mountain tourism area in Kampot province.
In South Korea, president Park Geun-hye’s top security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, has responded by creating an emergency task force. This is the team dedicated to rescuing citizens from the deepening crisis of scams. The government has been working day and night to repatriate those who are impacted by this weekend.
Wi Sung-lac told reporters that South Korean authorities are currently investigating a recent fatality involving a woman in her 30s. Her corpse was located approximately two days later, discarded in a remote area near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. They’re looking for possible links to the criminal organizations that run all those scams.
Over time, that situation has become much more dire. This criticism grew into a clamour after the reported torture and murder of a 22-year-old South Korean student last August in the Bokor Mountain area. Three months after that raid, authorities say about 60 South Koreans are still being held by Cambodian authorities after a crackdown on these illegal scam compounds.
The South Korean government is coordinating efforts for the repatriation of its citizens through a high-level delegation led by second vice-foreign minister Kim Jina, who recently arrived in Phnom Penh. The team is looking into options to charter flights for the return of all those detained.
In late September, Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon made headlines by planning a meeting with leaders of job portals. His aim is to improve filtering mechanisms that help prevent misleading or false job postings. An estimated 1,000 South Koreans have become ensnared in Cambodia’s extensive scam industry, which involves around 200,000 individuals of various nationalities perpetrating online fraud against victims worldwide.
Many victims have reported horrific experiences, including torture with electric shock devices and beatings with metal pipes at the hands of supervisors. Others have alleged that they were purchased by national organized crime syndicates. When they ceased to be able to produce or act as a mafia protecting merchants from financial extortion, they were in trouble.
“I don’t know if I fainted or just collapsed from lack of strength, but I couldn’t even scream.” – Yonhap News