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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed on Monday to form a joint task force to combat scams targeting South Koreans, in response to growing public concern over recent abductions and detentions of Lee’s compatriots in Cambodia. The task force, which begins operations next month, will include South Korean police officers, according to presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung. The size and operational details of the force will be determined as soon as possible. Lee, who is attending the Asean Summit in Malaysia, held a bilateral meeting with the Cambodian prime minister on the sidelines of the multilateral event. “President Lee expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Hun Manet for the Cambodian government’s cooperation in repatriating South Korean nationals and assisting victims in scam-related cases,” Kang said at a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur. “The two leaders agreed to actively coordinate efforts for an effective joint response to these crimes.” The agreement came after it was made public earlier this month that as many as 2,000 South Koreans had been ensnared in online scam operations in Cambodia after being lured to the country with fake job ads. They are allegedly forced to participate in the scams, making them both victims and perpetrators within these criminal organisations. According to Kang, the Cambodian prime minister said his country had already begun close consultations with a South Korean government response team dispatched about 10 days ago and emphasised that the security situation had significantly improved following recent crackdowns on scam compounds and other transnational criminal networks. In response, Lee said Seoul would consider lowering travel advisories for Phnom Penh and other regions “in light of the improving security situation and the launch of the joint task force”. Hun Manet also offered condolences over the recent death of a South Korean university student who had been abducted in Cambodia, describing it as “a tragic incident” and said that Phnom Penh was “working closely with Seoul to track down those involved in scam-related crimes”. “This is not an issue that any single country can resolve,” he said. “While I do not wish to assign blame, regional countries must work together to address it.” He added that Cambodia placed “the highest priority” on combating transnational crimes and was “listening carefully to the concerns” of foreign residents, including South Koreans in Cambodia. Lee, for his part, said “the Korean public is extremely sensitive to scam crimes at the moment”. He expressed gratitude to the Cambodian authorities for their “special consideration towards South Korean nationals” in responding to the issue. The two leaders also agreed to continue expanding bilateral exchanges in trade, investment and people-to-people cooperation, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership established after the two countries formed diplomatic ties in 1997. Highlighting that South Korean companies had made meaningful contributions to Cambodia’s economic development, Lee asked for continued support in resolving operational difficulties faced by these investors. Hun Manet pledged to instruct relevant ministries to address those concerns. Later in the day, the South Korean president told Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders that eliminating organised criminal networks and cross-border scam centres had to be a shared regional priority. This story was first published by The Korea Times
