There was a request last year to increase the number of police liaison officers in Cambodia, but it was rejected on the grounds that the workload had not increased much. Crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia, including kidnapping and confinement, have surged recently.
According to materials obtained on the 14th by Wi Seong-gon of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Interior Ministry last year disapproved the Foreign Ministry's request to increase a police liaison officer at the Embassy of Korea in Cambodia. The Interior Ministry cited the reason that "the increase in workload, such as incidents, falls short of the level requiring additional personnel."
However, crimes against Koreans in Cambodia surged to ▲81 cases in 2022 ▲134 cases in 2023 ▲348 cases in 2024. As of the first half of this year, 303 cases of criminal damage have been confirmed.
Currently, three police officers work at the Embassy of Korea in Cambodia: one liaison officer and two cooperation officers. Initially, there was only one police liaison officer, but one cooperation officer was added each in October 2024 and 9th on a temporary duty basis, bringing the total to three.
As the kidnapping and confinement of Koreans by criminal groups in Cambodia has emerged as a serious problem, there are calls to increase the number of police staff handling local operations. Taking this into account, the government plans to increase the number of police liaison officers in Cambodia within this year.
At the end of 9th, the Interior Ministry said it had received a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to add one police liaison officer in Cambodia under next year's regular staffing plan and one under this year's ad hoc staffing plan, and noted that "to quickly increase staffing within the year, it is necessary to consider an ad hoc staffing plan rather than the regular one."