South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyun met Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh to press Cambodia to act against expanding online scam operations after the death of 22-year-old Park Min-ho. The talks focus on cooperation and creation of a joint police task force; Cho is due to leave Tuesday. Officials say Cambodian scam centers may employ about 200,000 people, including roughly 1,000 South Koreans; 64 were repatriated last month and about 50 were later arrested on fraud charges.
South Korea Presses Cambodia to Crack Down on Massive Cyberscam Rings After Student's Death
South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyun met Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh to press Cambodia to act against expanding online scam operations after the death of 22-year-old Park Min-ho. The talks focus on cooperation and creation of a joint police task force; Cho is due to leave Tuesday. Officials say Cambodian scam centers may employ about 200,000 people, including roughly 1,000 South Koreans; 64 were repatriated last month and about 50 were later arrested on fraud charges.
11:11 AM, 11/10/2025Security
South Korea presses Cambodia for action against expanding cyberscam networks
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, met Monday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to press for urgent action against large-scale online scam operations that have been linked to the killing of a South Korean student.
Hun Manet said on social media that he met with Cho but did not provide details of their private discussions in Phnom Penh. Seoul’s foreign ministry said Cho’s visit — announced last week — focuses on cooperation to eradicate scam-related crime and on launching a joint police task force to tackle the problem. Cho is scheduled to depart Cambodia on Tuesday.
The meetings come after the death of 22-year-old Park Min-ho, who South Korean authorities say was lured to Cambodia and forced to work in a scam center before his tortured, beaten body was found in August. Park’s death sparked outrage in South Korea and prompted the government to send a delegation to Phnom Penh for emergency talks.
Scope of the problem
Online scams operated from Southeast Asia have surged in recent years. Thousands of victims — many reportedly kidnapped or deceived — have been forced to work in guarded compounds under the threat of violence. The United Nations and other agencies estimate that cyberscams generate billions of dollars annually for international criminal gangs, who often lure victims through fake friendships or fraudulent investment schemes.
South Korean officials estimate that scam centers in Cambodia employ roughly 200,000 people, including about 1,000 South Koreans. Last month, Cambodian police repatriated 64 South Koreans on a chartered flight; around 50 of those repatriated were arrested soon after arrival in South Korea on charges related to online fraud.
What’s next: Seoul and Phnom Penh are expected to discuss sharing intelligence, law enforcement cooperation and operational details for a proposed joint police task force to dismantle scam networks and protect potential victims.
Associated Press video journalist Jerry Harmer in Bangkok contributed to this report.