The presidential office has formed a task force (TF) to respond to serious crimes such as job fraud and confinement targeting Koreans that recently occurred in Cambodia. The presidential Spokesperson's office said on the 13th that Office of National Security chief Wi Sung-lac will chair an interagency TF meeting and will seek response measures for recent serious crimes targeting our nationals. This comes two days after President Lee Jae-myung ordered an "all-out diplomatic response" to protect our nationals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Korean National Police Agency, among other relevant agencies, will attend the meeting. The presidential office said, "In line with the president's instructions, the government is pursuing multifaceted efforts to protect our nationals from job fraud and confinement in Cambodia," adding, "To eradicate such harm, we will also carry out strict law enforcement against related organized crime."
The TF was formed to first share, among ministries, the actual conditions of crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia and to find practical measures such as strengthening cooperation with Cambodian authorities. Earlier, on the 11th, the president received a report on the status of related crimes and said, "Make an all-out diplomatic effort to protect our nationals."
The case involved luring young Koreans with "high-paying jobs," and the victim, a person surnamed Park, 20, left for Cambodia in Jul. and was found dead three weeks later. The Cambodian government said it had arrested three Chinese nationals suspected of killing Park and referred them for trial. Local police identified the cause of death as "extreme pain due to torture."
According to the office of Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party of Korea, in recent testimony, person A, who was rescued from the Bokor Mountain crime compound in Kampot Province, Cambodia, said, "Park had been beaten so much that walking was impossible and even breathing was difficult," adding, "He had already been severely assaulted by a previous group to the point that speaking was difficult."