Controversy is growing as a series of cases have emerged recently of Koreans being kidnapped and confined by local crime rings in Cambodia. They reportedly left for Cambodia after falling victim to a kind of "job scam."
However, on social media (SNS) and online communities, posts promoting jobs in Southeast Asia that promise "guaranteed high income" are still being uploaded continuously. They advertise with phrases such as "Other countries, not Cambodia, are safe" or "Now is actually a safe time."
◇Posts saying "middle and high school students welcome" as well
According to ChosunBiz's reporting on the 14th, dozens of recruitment posts are uploaded every day on various SNS and online job boards, claiming that one can earn from 7 million won to tens of millions of won per month in Southeast Asia by doing only tasks such as telemarketing (TM) or document delivery.
They not only offer room and board, but also put up phrases such as "There is absolutely no confinement, and overnight stays out are allowed." They appear to be trying to reassure job seekers in light of the recent case in which a university student surnamed Park, 22, from Yecheon, North Gyeongsang, died after being tortured while confined in Cambodia.
A representative site is the illegal job-seeking site "Hades Cafe." Opened in 2023, it saw more than 18,000 job posts in just over a year. One listing, titled "Create new opportunities in Vietnam," read, "Weekly pay of 4 million to 5 million won guaranteed. For those who find things really too hard and think there's no answer in Korea, if you only have money, all problems around you will automatically be solved."
Another listing emphasized that it was a so-called "guaranteed company" that had paid a deposit to the site operator, stating, "This is not Cambodia, which is noisy these days. This is Chiang Mai, Thailand, with 100% guaranteed safety. We won't do something foolish that causes trouble in these times." It used the recent incidents as a promotional tool.
In the early hours that day, even a listing openly touting "preference for minors" was posted. One company replied to a post by a first-year high school student who wrote, "There is 14,000 won in the account," with, "Everyone from middle school to high school is welcome. Age, experience, and credit do not matter. All you need is your body and desperation."
Not only "Hades Cafe," but also legal secondhand transaction platforms and online boards carried posts such as "If you deliver documents to Cambodia, we will pay 400,000 won per delivery," or "Hiring female staff for work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Seize the chance to 'reset' your life right now. Fixed salary of 8 million to 13 million won."
◇If you are lured by a job post and head to Cambodia or neighboring countries, it is dangerous
However, if you see such posts and head to Cambodia or neighboring countries, you could be kidnapped and confined. According to victims' accounts, the moment they arrived at the airport in Cambodia, their passports and mobile phones were taken, and they were locked up in shared accommodations and forcibly mobilized for crimes such as voice phishing or romance scams.
If they failed to meet assigned targets or were caught trying to escape, brutal beatings and torture followed. The university student surnamed Park, 22, is also said to have died in August from pain caused by torture during such a process.
The problem is that a site that has become a hotbed for such crimes has been openly operating for nearly two years without even changing its address once. They exploit the fact that contacts are made discreetly via Telegram and other means, making it hard for investigators to track, and that sites with overseas servers are difficult to block.
The police, a day earlier, belatedly moved to step up monitoring of related platforms, but critics say it falls short of blocking contacts conducted discreetly through overseas messengers that are hard to trace, such as Telegram.
Lee Woong-hyuk, a professor of police studies at Konkuk University, said, "Considering the low national income levels in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, we must not forget that job postings promising economic revenue above the average are not reasonable," adding, "Even if you are tempted by a job post, you must think carefully about the fact that your life could be in danger and you may never be able to return for the rest of your life."