South Korea foreign minister meets Cambodia's leader to fight criminal cyberscam

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet last month to discuss criminal cyberscam operations that have been blamed for the brutal death of a Korean student. The meeting followed the death of Park Min-ho, who was lured to Cambodia and forced to work in a scam center before his body was found tortured and beaten in August. His death triggered outrage in South Korea, prompting the government to send a delegation to Phnom Penh for urgent talks.

Online scams have risen sharply in recent years, with thousands of people kidnapped or tricked into working in guarded compounds under threat of violence. The cybercriminals feign friendship or tout phony investment opportunities to cheat targets around the world. Scam centers in Cambodia are estimated to have about 200,000 workers including 1,000 South Koreans according to South Korean officials.

Last month, 64 South Koreans who had been detained by Cambodian police were repatriated on a chartered flight and 50 of them were arrested shortly after arrival on charges of involvement in fraud activities. The UN and other agencies estimate that cyber scams earn international criminal gangs billions of dollars annually.

The efforts followed the death of 22-year-old Park Min-ho, who was reportedly lured to Cambodia and forced to work in a scam center before his body was found tortured and beaten in August. His death triggered outrage in South Korea, prompting the government to send a delegation to Phnom Penh for urgent talks.

Online scams, many based in Southeast Asian countries, have risen sharply in recent years. Thousands of people, many of them kidnapped or tricked, have been forced to work in guarded compounds under the threat of violence. The United Nations and other agencies estimate that cyber scams earn international criminal gangs billions of dollars annually.

Edward Lance Arellano Lorilla

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