Foreign Minister: "Over 10 Koreans Arrested, 2 Rescued in Cambodia... Early Warning System Activated"

Consultations Underway to Add 40 Consular Staff Members
Cambodian Embassy to Operate 24 Hours a Day
Senior Official: "Reducing ODA? Not Appropriate for National Dignity"
"Military Operation? Serious Issue for the Country's Sovereignty"

In Cambodia, where incidents of employment scams and abduction or confinement targeting Koreans continue to occur, it has been revealed that around ten Korean nationals have been arrested and two have been rescued. In response to these incidents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to increase consular staff in Southeast Asia and implement an early warning system to ensure the safety of overseas Koreans.

On the afternoon of October 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met with reporters at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and stated, "The Cambodian authorities have so far arrested more than ten additional Korean nationals suspected of being involved in online scams, and have separately rescued two other Koreans."

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cambodian police conducted a crackdown on October 16 and arrested more than ten Korean nationals suspected of online scams. Separately, Cambodian police rescued two Koreans who had been confined. The two rescued individuals are expected to return to Korea as early as this week.

It has been reported that some of those arrested or rescued this time are among the 80-plus individuals whose safety had not been confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of August. A ministry official explained, "The two people who were rescued are included in our (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) statistics, and they were rescued after a report of confinement. Among the more than ten Korean nationals suspected of online scams, one had previously filed a report of confinement."

Yonhap News Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also decided to expand the number of staff handling consular work to ensure the safety of overseas Koreans, and to broaden the early warning system for the Southeast Asia region. Minister Cho stated, "After consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, we plan to secure around 40 additional staff members for consular work and significantly increase personnel in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia. In addition, we will work with related ministries to expand and operate the early warning system not only for Cambodia but for the entire Southeast Asia region."

According to a ministry official, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urgently dispatched three staff members from the Consular Affairs Bureau to the Cambodian embassy, considering the rapidly increasing workload there, and is also reviewing the possibility of sending additional personnel from other overseas missions. Previously, given the vacancy in the ambassador position in Cambodia, former Ambassador to Lebanon Park Il was dispatched to the country.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to secure around 40 additional consular staff in the medium term through consultations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The official explained, "It will be decided later where these staff members will be assigned, whether at headquarters or overseas missions, after securing the personnel quota."

Regarding the operation of the early warning system for the Southeast Asia region mentioned by Minister Cho, the official added, "We are reviewing areas for improvement in existing systems such as the Overseas Safety Situation Room and the Consular Call Center, and plan to develop these into a comprehensive early warning system."

Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to operate the Cambodian embassy on a 24-hour basis for the time being. This measure was taken in response to concerns about difficulties in communication between overseas Koreans and embassy staff outside of regular working hours. A ministry official stated, "We have retrained the embassy's local security personnel to ensure that no reports are missed at any time, and have posted consular contact information at the embassy entrance to facilitate real-time communication. In consideration of situations where victims may find it difficult to enter the embassy, we have also rented a guesthouse in front of the embassy so that consular officers can meet with visitors there."

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs drew a clear line against some calls to reduce official development assistance (ODA) to Cambodia in light of the recent incidents. The official stated, "Directly linking this incident to ODA is not appropriate for our national dignity," but added, "ODA sectors are determined through bilateral consultations, and we are considering using this as an opportunity to help build the capacity of the Cambodian police."

The senior official also addressed discussions in some political circles about launching a military operation to rescue Korean victims of abduction and confinement in Cambodia, emphasizing, "Military action could seriously infringe on the sovereignty of the country concerned, so we must be careful to ensure that such actions do not occur."

The official added, "The ASEAN+3 summit will soon be held, and ASEAN countries are important partners with whom we must expand our diplomatic engagement. Since they are our new markets and cooperation partners, I believe we should not react emotionally in a way that could damage Korea's image with all of ASEAN."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.