Abductions of Koreans in Cambodia surge... Beware of solicitations for ”high-paying overseas jobs” - South Korean reports

There has been a series of kidnappings, confinement, and assaults of Koreans in Cambodia, raising concerns. Recently, many Koreans have been deceived by the promise of high-paying jobs overseas and traveled to Cambodia, but have now become victims of crimes.
Cases of forced labor are occurring one after another, so caution is needed. On August 8th, a Korean university student, A, was found dead in Cambodia. A told his family he was going to an exhibition and then disappeared into Cambodia.
A left Cambodia, but one week after A left, his family received a call from a criminal group demanding money. The family reported the matter to the Cambodian Embassy and the police, but they lost contact with the kidnappers.
It was discovered that Mr. A had been held captive near the hideout of the criminal group "Bokorsan" in Kampo Province, Cambodia, and according to local police and others, Mr. A was tortured and suffered severe pain.
It was discovered that Mr. A died of a heart attack after being taken to hospital. The body of Mr. A has been left abandoned in the country for two months, and the South Korean government is requesting that the body be repatriated.
The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding A's entry and exit into the country and whether he may have been a victim of a crime.
By August of this year, the number of cases had exceeded 300. According to the office of Na Kyung-won, a lawmaker from the People's Power Party, the number of Koreans arrested in Cambodia is expected to increase from three in 2023 to 46 in 2024.
The number of cases has increased fivefold, reaching 144 from January to July this year, already more than three times the number from last year. During the same period, there were 252 cases of employment fraud and confinement, 14.8 times the number in 2023.
It is known that most of them were abducted victims who were deceived by scams promising high salaries for jobs overseas. Criminal organizations exploit people who travel to foreign countries in search of employment.
They force people to commit online crimes such as cryptocurrency exchange fraud and voice phishing, and if they refuse, they imprison or assault them.
In the past, countries such as China, Thailand, and the Philippines have been listed as dangerous crime countries.
However, Cambodia has recently emerged as a dangerous country for crime. The Korean police are cooperating with the Chinese public security to deal with cross-border crimes, and have set up branch offices in Thailand and the Philippines.
Unlike these, we are currently in the process of expanding our cooperation channels with Cambodia, making it difficult to obtain the Cambodian government's cooperation in investigations and tracking.
As concerns about crimes committed by Koreans in Cambodia grew, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning level 2 (restrict travel) and a special travel advisory for some areas of Cambodia, including Phnom Penh, on the 17th of last month.
The South Korean government has issued a notice to the government that it will first be suspicious of companies offering favorable employment conditions such as advance payment of travel expenses and high wages, and will meet with the person in charge of the company recruiting and speak to them directly.
They request that you check the exact details of the work before signing, that you do not sign a contract without checking all the terms and conditions properly, and that you must obtain a work visa before departing.