Cambodia will send 73 online scam suspects to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Dozens of South Koreans detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in online scam compounds will be sent home this week to face investigations, officials said Thursday, in what would be the largest group reparation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad.

The South Korean suspects, 65 males and eight females, allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won ($33 million), according to the statement.

The 73 suspects were among around 200 detained of South Koreans detained in a crackdown as public outrage over scam centers in Southeast Asia flared when a Korean student was found dead last summer after reportedly being forced to work at an online scam compound in Cambodia.

Authorities said at the time he died after being tortured and beaten, and South Korea sent a government delegation to Cambodia in October for talks on a joint response.

South Korea will send a chartered plane to Cambodia, which is expected to return Friday with the suspects, who will be immediately handed over to investigative authorities upon arrival, according to a South Korean government statement.

Cybercrime has flourished in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, as trafficked foreign nationals were employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery. According to estimates from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, scam victims worldwide lost between $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023.

In January, Cambodia said it had arrested and extradited to China a tycoon accused of running a huge online scam operation.

Since October, South Korea has repatriated about 130 Korean scam suspects from Cambodia and less then 30 such Korean suspects from Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines altogether, according to police.

South Korean officials said in October that about 1,000 South Koreans were estimated be in scam centers in Cambodia. Some are believed to be forced laborers.

South Korea said it will continue its efforts to crack down on scam crimes targeting South Korean nationals.