The Korean National Police Agency said on the 10th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Cambodian National Police on establishing a Korea task force between the two agencies.
Under the memorandum, the "Korea task force" was officially launched. Police from Korea and Cambodia will work together and respond around the clock to local incidents involving Koreans. They will handle the entire process from receiving reports to rescuing victims, investigating, and repatriating suspects.
Previously, as scams, confinement, and human trafficking targeting Koreans became frequent in Cambodia, the two countries' police forces pursued a "practical alliance centered on real-time information sharing and joint operations."
According to the police, in connection with the so-called "Cambodia situation," the total number of suspected missing-person reports filed with the Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from this year through Nov. 5 is 541. Of these, 237 involve failure to return to Korea and 167 involve cases where safety has not been confirmed. Police are checking for links to crime.
Yu Jaeseong, acting commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency, met with SAR Thet, the Cambodian National Police commissioner, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the day and said, "There are no borders when it comes to protecting the lives and safety of our people," adding, "I hope the Korea task force will become a symbol of trust and cooperation between the two police forces and a practical forward base for safety protection that people in both countries can feel."
Yu, together with Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister SAR Sokha to discuss building a whole-of-government cooperation system to eradicate transnational crime and ways to improve laws and systems. Both sides agreed that the Korea task force should not stop at a short-term response but develop into a sustainable institutional cooperation model.
The Korean National Police Agency plans to share its experience operating the Cambodia Korea task force with neighboring Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos to develop it into an international cooperation model.
Currently, police are currently investigating employment scam cases targeting Koreans, including 14 in the Philippines, nine in China, seven in Thailand, six in Vietnam, and three in Laos.