Koreans to be repatriated from Cambodia scam centres
Dozens of South Koreans working at online fraud centers in Cambodia are about to be flown back home on a charter plane, officials said.
The repatriation follows the death of a South Korean student who was reportedly forced to work at a fraud center in Cambodia.
His death triggered public outrage in South Korea and led the government to send a delegation to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to discuss joint responses.
Cambodian Interior Ministry spokesman Touch Sokhak said 64 South Koreans would be repatriated from Cambodia late Friday.
South Korean national security director Wi Sung-lac said earlier in a briefing in Seoul that the two countries were in the final stages of charter flight negotiations and that about 60 South Koreans would leave Phnom Penh around midnight local time.
Wi previously said South Koreans detained during a crackdown on fraud centers in Cambodia would face investigations upon arrival in the country; This is an open bid to determine whether they are willingly joining fraudulent organizations or being coerced into working through fake job postings.
According to South Korean officials, fraud centers in Cambodia are estimated to employ approximately 200,000 employees, including 1,000 South Koreans.
Online scams have increased sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing two groups of victims: those forced to work as fraudsters under threat of violence, and the targets of their scams through fake investment pitches, illegal gambling schemes and even romantic games.
Monitoring groups say online scams generate billions of dollars a year for international criminal gangs.
A South Korean travel ban came into effect on Thursday for parts of Cambodia, including Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, where the South Korean student was found dead.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday ordered authorities to take urgent action to remove illegal job postings not only in Cambodia but also in Southeast Asia.
Online fraud centers were previously concentrated in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia and Myanmar; Most trafficked people and other workers came from Asia.
But an Interpol report published in June said that in the past three years, victims have been trafficked from as far afield as South America, Western Europe and East Africa to Southeast Asia, with new centers reported in the Middle East, West Africa and Central America.
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