Police Investigating 24 Cambodia-Related Cases... Prince and Huiyuan Groups Under Probe

The police, who have formed a dedicated task force (TF) to address cases of disappearance, abduction, and confinement in Cambodia, are currently investigating 24 cases.

Yonhap News Agency

At a regular press briefing on November 3, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeongbo stated, "We are currently investigating 17 cases related to abduction and disappearance, including those connected to the Prince Group and Huiyuan Group, which are linked to Cambodian criminal organizations. Today, we received an additional seven cases from local police stations, bringing the total number of cases under investigation to 24."

Previously, the police established a 44-member "Task Force for Overseas Korean Disappearance, Abduction, and Confinement Cases" within the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit, with the head of the Criminal Mobile Unit serving as team leader. When reports of abduction, confinement, or disappearance of overseas Koreans are received and a criminal connection is confirmed, the TF takes direct charge of the investigation.

The Prince Group and Huiyuan Group are currently under pre-indictment investigation. The police are collecting and analyzing information and intelligence related to the case and are conducting necessary inquiries.

Commissioner Park explained, "Currently, the Prince Group's business site has been shut down, and there is no business registration in Korea. It is presumed to have operated as a liaison office for the Cambodian headquarters in Korea." He added that the police have secured certain leads, such as former lease contracts from when the office was operational, and are continuing their investigation.

At the same time, the police have also launched a crackdown on illegal overseas job advertisements. Commissioner Park said, "We have monitored 131 overseas job ads with a high likelihood of criminal involvement and have completed requests for their deletion or blocking. We have also sent official cooperation letters to 29 major job search websites, urging them to implement self-regulatory measures."

Additionally, two Telegram channels were found to contain job postings suspected of criminal links, and pre-indictment investigations have also been initiated into these channels.

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