SEOUL, Oct 14 — Eighty South Koreans linked to job scams in Cambodia are missing or their safety cannot be confirmed, Yonhap News Agency reported today, citing a Foreign Ministry official.
Seventy of them were reported missing between January and August this year, while the 10 others have remained unaccounted for since last year, a ministry official told the press, citing data filed by the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia.
The embassy received reports of 330 people missing from their families and friends in the first eight months of this year, up sharply from 220 cases in 2024.
All cases other than those involving the missing people have been resolved, as their safety was confirmed, either because they were deported after being arrested by police, escaped captivity on their own, or had their whereabouts verified by family members or acquaintances.
However, the official said that the numbers must be cross-checked with figures collected by the police, as they do not entirely match. The National Police Agency (NPA) reported 52 missing cases out of 143 cases filed since last year.
The latest figures come as South Korea is making all-out efforts to deal with the crimes spiralling out of control, in which South Koreans are kidnapped and brutally abused by job scam rings that lure them with promises of high-paying work in Cambodia.
The issue has sparked public outrage after a South Korean university student in his 20s was found dead in southern Cambodia in August, following torture and detention, prompting Seoul to take action, including repatriating the student's body and the nationals.
