As reports continue to come in that families who left for Cambodia are missing, a missionary active there warned Korean youths, saying, "Please do not come." The missionary said he has rescued 50 people just this year.
On a YTN radio interview on the 13th, O Chang-su, the Sihanoukville Korean community president and missionary in Cambodia, said, "In Cambodia, there are no jobs where Koreans can earn 10 million won a month, not even $1,000 (about 1.4 million won). But they get lured, come here, get confined, tortured every day, beaten, and forced into labor."
O described Sihanoukville, where he lives, as a southern Cambodian port city and the country's second city. He added, "China selected it as a Belt and Road city, and when Chinese capital came in and built casinos, it became a city of Chinese people," and said, "In each hotel and casino building, Chinese mafia groups range from as few as 10 to as many as dozens."
He also said, "Voice phishing rings existed in every Southeast Asian country," and added, "Around the time of the COVID-19 crisis, they seem to have flocked to Cambodia all at once. Voice phishing, stock scam tip rooms, romance scams and other online crimes are taking place in Sihanoukville."
Regarding the surge since last year in reports that Koreans have been kidnapped in Cambodia, O said, "I used to carry out about a dozen rescues a year, but last year it was 30 to 40, and already this year I have rescued more than 50."
About the Koreans who were rescued, he said, "They came to Cambodia due to employment scams." On why Koreans become targets for crime rings, he said, "In Sihanoukville, not only Chinese but also people from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan commit voice phishing and other online crimes," adding, "The revenue gained from voice phishing targeting Koreans is the largest."
He continued, "The ransom for Koreans is the most expensive," adding, "Chinese people get $2,000 to $3,000 for a Korean, but when they sell Koreans to other Chinese people, they get $10,000 to $15,000."
O said there have been two to three cases where attempts to rescue failed, adding, "It seems the escape plan was exposed. Then they get sold to a deeper place, or in some cases all contact is cut off forever."
O also mentioned the recent case of a university student from Yecheon, North Gyeongsang, who was kidnapped and confined by a Chinese ring in Cambodia, tortured, and died. He said, "Bokor Mountain, where the death occurred, is over 1,000 meters high. On top of it, a Chinese Triad set up a 'wenqi (criminal complex),' locked people up, and forced them into online crimes," adding, "There is only one way down, and it is a place where even Papillon could not escape."
Jeong Myeong-gyu, president of the Cambodian Korean Association, also appeared on CBS radio that day and said, "We get five to 10 requests a week (asking for help to escape)," adding, "Some escape on their own, and some flee in groups of two or three, stay together, and then contact us."
He continued, "Not only the Korean Association but also the embassy and companies have already had about 400 to 500 reports just this year," adding, "If there are this many cases where people escaped and we sent them back to Korea, there must be even more who fled and we do not know about."
Jeong said, "There are also youths detained in prisons or police stations, and there are cases we cannot know about until we are notified," adding, "More than 300 people who connected with the Korean Association or the embassy have returned to Korea now, and nearly 400 people have been identified." He added, "Sometimes members of crime rings come out to airports and take these youths back again."
Regarding the crime rings, Jeong said, "Only about 3% to 5% are Koreans; most are Chinese," adding, "People from Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and elsewhere also appear." On Korean members, he said, "Some who came to Cambodia go back and bring people around them," adding, "They sometimes hear, 'If you lure new people in, we will release your friend who is confined,' and sometimes they do it for money because they are paid when they lure people in."
Jeong warned people to be wary of "high-revenue part-time jobs." He said, "Recently on Karrot Market, people have been kidnapped after being deceived by messages saying, 'If you just deliver documents, we will pay big revenue,' or 'If you accompany a trip, we will cover your airfare.'"