The governments of Korea and Cambodia agreed on the 17th to form a task force (TF) to respond to kidnapping and unlawful confinement cases, including online fraud. Sixty-four Koreans detained in Cambodia will be repatriated to Korea early tomorrow (18th) by chartered flight.
Kim Jin-a, the second vice minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a briefing at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia in Phnom Penh that day and said, "We agreed with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Sokha of Cambodia to establish and constitute the Korea-Cambodia joint response TF." The TF's official name and operating method will be finalized next week after discussions between the Cambodian National Police and the Korean Embassy.
Vice Minister Kim said, "By regularizing TF meetings, the police of both countries will share information and evidence in the course of investigations and pursue practical cooperation, including technical collaboration and the early repatriation of those involved in crimes," adding, "Deputy Prime Minister Sar Sokha issued instructions to the national police across Cambodia to search criminal compounds and immediately rescue any Koreans found."
Deputy Prime Minister Sar conveyed to Korea his position that he would create a "blacklist" to block reentry if a Korean becomes involved in crime in his country and is deported. In response, Vice Minister Kim said, "We will actively review development cooperation projects to further strengthen the investigative capabilities of the Cambodian police authorities," and noted, "Korea will also provide Cambodia with crime-response-related information it possesses."
However, the plan by Korean police to install a "Korean Desk" (a police officer dedicated to handling Korean-related cases) around Sihanoukville, where criminal compounds are concentrated, has effectively fallen through. Park Seong-ju, Deputy Minister of the National Office of Investigation, who attended the briefing that day, explained, "Rather than saying the Korean Desk fell through, the TF is what both countries understood as an expanded concept."
Deputy Minister Park said there are 64 Koreans detained in Cambodia to be repatriated, explaining that a chartered flight will arrive at 10:40 p.m. local time that day and depart at 12:30 a.m. the following day, arriving at Incheon Airport at 8 a.m. Korea time. The 64 face allegations including customer management, investment chatroom scams, romance scams, and voice phishing.