South Korea is pushing for regional cooperation against online scam operations in Cambodia, with President Lee Jae Myung’s administration planning to raise the issue at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Malaysia this October.
The move comes amid a surge in job scams and related violent crimes that have increasingly targeted Korean nationals across Southeast Asia.
Wi Sung-lac, director of South Korea’s National Security Office, said Thursday that the government is seeking to use the ASEAN platform to promote a multilateral framework for combating organized crime networks operating in Cambodia and neighboring countries. “The ASEAN Summit will be an opportunity to establish a cooperative system, including joint investigations with ASEAN policing authorities,” Wi said in a press briefing.
Wi noted that the proposal would likely center on enhancing regional coordination to address cross-border crimes linked to scam compounds in Cambodia, which have become a regional hotspot for human trafficking and forced labor. “Many countries are involved, and it may be efficient for the issue to be discussed at a multilateral meeting,” he said, adding that similar discussions could also take place under the United Nations and the OECD.
Seoul’s renewed focus on the issue follows multiple reports of Koreans being lured to Cambodia through fake job offers, only to be kidnapped, confined, or forced to work in scam operations. South Korea’s interagency delegation, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jin-a, traveled to Phnom Penh this week to meet Prime Minister Hun Manet and senior officials from a special committee under the Cambodian Prime Minister’s Office.
The visit, ordered by President Lee, aimed to secure the release of about 60 Koreans currently detained in scam-related cases and to enhance bilateral cooperation in cracking down on transnational criminal groups.
According to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, 330 cases of Koreans reported missing or forcibly confined in Cambodia were logged between January and August 2025, compared to 220 cases in 2024. While most have since been resolved, around 80 cases remain open. However, intelligence officials believe the true number of victims could exceed 1,000.
South Korean police are also investigating the recent death of a Korean woman in her 30s found on October 8th in southern Vietnam near the Cambodian border. Authorities are examining whether her death is linked to regional scam operations, which Seoul estimates involve up to 200,000 people worldwide.
“The emerging threat of transnational scams cannot be solved by one country alone,” Wi said. “To uproot these crimes, cooperation with Cambodia and other affected nations is crucial.”
