CaliToday (15/10/2025): In a dramatic escalation of its response to a deepening crisis, the South Korean government has declared it is prepared to deploy its own police forces to Cambodia to address the disappearance of approximately 80 citizens, who are feared to have been abducted, tortured, and forced into illegal online scam operations.
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| South Korea will dispatch a task force to Cambodia on Wednesday to oversee the repatriation of citizens being held in the country after a surge of kidnappings, the office of President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday. Lee discussed the issue during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul. |
The alarming situation, first confirmed by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, October 14th, has ignited public outrage, particularly following the recent death of a South Korean student in the country. This has cast a harsh spotlight on the grave dangers posed by transnational criminal enterprises operating in Southeast Asia.
According to a ministry official, authorities received reports concerning 330 South Korean nationals who were either missing or believed to be illegally detained after traveling to Cambodia in the first eight months of this year. While many have since been located, the safety and whereabouts of 80 individuals remain unconfirmed.
The crisis appears to be spiraling out of control. Assemblyman Yoon Hu-duk revealed that abduction cases involving South Koreans in Cambodia have skyrocketed, reaching a figure 15 times higher than in all of 2023.
The grave developments prompted a swift and high-level response from the government. President Lee Jae-myung declared the situation a "grave threat to the safety of our people" and ordered immediate and decisive action.
An inter-agency response team, led by the Second Vice Foreign Minister, is being dispatched to Cambodia on October 15th to coordinate with local authorities on locating the missing, rescuing detainees, and repatriating the body of the murdered student.
However, in an unprecedented move underscoring the gravity of the situation, a high-ranking official from the President's Office confirmed that Seoul is ready for a more direct intervention. The government is prepared to deploy units of its national police force to Cambodia to directly participate in rescue operations and apprehend the criminals responsible. This potential deployment, a step rarely taken in overseas cases, signals Seoul's immense frustration and its resolve to protect its citizens by any means necessary.
Presidential spokesman Kim Nam-joon also confirmed that the government is actively considering raising its official travel advisory for Cambodia to the highest level, strongly advising against all travel to the nation.
The national concern was tragically crystallized by the recent death of a South Korean university student, who was found deceased near Bokor Mountain in Kampot province after traveling to the country for an exhibition. This case, coupled with numerous reports of citizens being lured by fake job ads into forced labor, has created a firestorm of public anger in South Korea, demanding the government take extraordinary measures to end the crisis.
