Seoul (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Cambodia have held talks on enhancing consular support and investigative capacity to combat crimes targeting Korean citizens, the RoK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on October 12.
The talks took place in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh after a Korean student was reported to have died from torture related to online fraud in Cambodia.
According to the MOFA, Seoul has held diplomatic consultations with Phnom Penh to increase the number of police officers assigned to the Korean Embassy in Cambodia and to establish a Korean desk within a Cambodian police station to handle cases involving Korean nationals.
Currently, the Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh has one police officer and two police liaison officers assigned to coordinate cooperation. The Korean side believes this number is insufficient to address the recent surge in crimes such as job scams and illegal detention.
According to earlier reports, a university student from the RoK was allegedly tortured to death after traveling to Cambodia to attend an exhibition on July 17. The incident has shocked the Korean public and sparked calls for stronger police cooperation to better protect victims.
Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun on October 10 summoned the Cambodian Ambassador to Seoul to express deep concern over the incident and urged the Cambodian government to take stronger measures against the growing number of online scams and illegal detentions targeting Korean citizens. In addition, the ministry upgraded its travel advisory for Phnom Penh from Level 2, which advises travelers to exercise caution, to Level 2.5 - a special travel warning./.
