South Korea arrested 46 Korean suspects in connection with scam operations in Cambodia and repatriated 107 more in October and November the presidential office said Friday.
Based on government estimates provided by President Lee Jae Myung's office, the cumulative number of South Korean criminals repatriated rose to 123 in November from 16 in September, while the total of those arrested increased to 154 from 108 in September.
Meanwhile, the number of new reports filed with authorities regarding South Korean nationals who were either missing or abducted fell to 17 in November, down more than 80 percent from 93 in October.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung attributed the trend to pangovernmental efforts led by Lee starting in October, aimed at securing Cambodia's cooperation in the crackdown.
These efforts included Lee’s decision in October to dispatch an interagency response team to address the surge in abductions in Cambodia and to establish a pangovernmental headquarters comprising eight state bodies, including the Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry, National Intelligence Service and the Financial Services Commission.
Lee also held talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in late October on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, which resulted in an agreement to establish a help desk within a Cambodian police station to handle matters involving Korean nationals.
Following the revelation of a case in which a 22-year-old Korean man was lured by a fake job offer and tortured to death in Cambodia, Lee in mid-October called for all-out diplomatic action to protect South Koreans affected by crimes in the country.
“The government will continue to take bold and stern actions against transnational crimes that threaten the safety, lives and livelihoods of South Korean people,” Kang told reporters on Friday. “We will also make it clear that those who inflict damage on South Korean people will face far greater risks.”
consnow@heraldcorp.com
