A field audit was held in connection with the situation involving the abduction, confinement, and participation in crimes of Koreans in Cambodia, but ruling and opposition lawmakers poured out criticism as the Embassy of Korea in Cambodia failed to give proper answers.
On the 22nd (local time), the on-site audit of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee was held in the conference room of the Embassy of Korea in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
When lawmakers from both sides asked for specific dates and statistics, officials at the Embassy in Cambodia appeared unable to answer properly.
Kim Ki-woong of the People Power Party asked the embassy, "How many of our nationals are entering and leaving Cambodia?" Acting Ambassador Kim Hyun-su replied, "We receive data on the number of entrants through the Cambodian authorities, and for those leaving, there are no published figures, so we have requested the data from the Cambodian side."
In response, Kim said, "What about the reports that have been in the media since 2021? The number of our nationals in Cambodia is basic information, so I don't understand why cooperation has not been secured yet."
Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party of Korea asked, "We assess that at least 1,000 Koreans are in scam (fraud) organizations at present. How many do you think there are?" Acting Ambassador Kim answered, "It is difficult for us to determine the exact number, and it is the same for the Cambodian government."
Kim Seok-ki of the People Power Party criticized, "The acting ambassador says you have worked hard so far, but you have not obtained a single document from Cambodia. The acting ambassador says he also met with the Vice Administrator of the Korean National Police Agency, but that does not solve the problem."
In a follow-up question, Hong asked the embassy to categorize the abduction and confinement reports received from 2024 through this year, but when a police consul affiliated with the embassy said it was difficult to distinguish them, Hong raised the issue again.
Hong pressed, "There have been reports that contact with more than 500 of our nationals has been lost in the past few years. Have you not done any analysis of that? You need that to judge how this happened and what action to take."
Kim Seok-ki said, "I have never seen an audit like this. There is nothing more important than this issue in Korea right now, so you must engage in this audit with a truly serious and sincere attitude."
The initial report on the case of a Korean college student in his 20s who was killed after being confined in a Cambodian crime compound in Aug. also came under scrutiny.
Song Eon-seog of the People Power Party said, "In the first report (prepared by the embassy and submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on Aug. 11, it states that it is assessed the person died of 'cardiac arrest after severe pain due to torture.' That contradicts the answers by the Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the director of the Consular Affairs Bureau during the last audit, and it is clearly perjury."