S. Korea preps sanctions against Cambodia scammers as US intensifies crackdown

South Korea plans to impose financial sanctions on Cambodia-based criminal organizations involved in online scams and human trafficking, a move that follows the U.S.’ unprecedented action against Southeast Asian fraud operations, which resulted in $15 billion worth of bitcoin being seized and sanctions placed on nearly 150 individuals and entities connected to Prince Holding Group.

Catch up: Park Min-ho, a 22-year-old South Korean university student, was discovered dead inside a pickup truck in southern Cambodia on Aug. 8. Autopsy results show he “died as a result of severe torture, with multiple bruises and injuries across his body.” A friend had recruited Park to travel to Cambodia and provide his bank account for scam operations. More than two months after his death, his remains were returned to South Korea this week.

Park’s death prompted swift government action. South Korea implemented a “code black” travel ban covering certain areas of Cambodia, while a high-level delegation secured the release of dozens of nationals. Last Saturday, 64 South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia arrived home via charter flight, with courts approving arrest warrants for 49 of them on charges including romance scams, fraudulent investment schemes and voice phishing targeting other South Koreans. However, four of those who returned reported being physically assaulted while forced to remain in scam facilities, complicating questions about who is a perpetrator and who is a victim.

What governments are saying: Earlier this week, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun announced plans to deploy 40 additional specialized consular staff and establish an early warning system throughout Southeast Asia. In addition, President Lee Jae-myung has directed authorities to urgently remove fraudulent online job postings for Cambodia and the broader Southeast Asian region to prevent more nationals from being lured.

Cambodia, for its part, has taken a more cautious stance. Interior Ministry spokesman Touch Sokhak said his government “will cooperate in every way possible with other countries where there is sufficient evidence,” while emphasizing that Cambodia itself has not accused the sanctioned entities of criminal conduct. On the investigative front, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) located a primary suspect in Park’s death within eight days and confirmed that the individual had ties to the leader of a 2023 Gangnam drug trafficking operation, according to information provided to lawmakers on Wednesday.

The big picture: The NIS reports that between 1,000 and 2,000 South Korean citizens are currently participating in scam operations throughout Cambodia. They are part of a larger workforce of roughly 200,000 people operating from approximately 50 scam facilities in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and surrounding areas. In a notable shift in characterization, the agency said “it would be more accurate to regard many of the South Koreans involved in the scams as ‘perpetrators’ rather than ‘victims,’” noting they “had financial motives and actively participated in the crimes.”

Official data shows that 2,000 to 3,000 South Koreans who traveled to Cambodia in the past three years remain unaccounted for, a trend driven by limited job opportunities in South Korea’s struggling labor market. This blurred line between victim and criminal reflects a broader regional challenge, where economic hardship increasingly pushes vulnerable populations into transnational crime networks that harm both coerced workers and fraud victims globally. Amid this complexity, South Korean officials are working with Cambodian authorities to locate approximately 80 missing South Koreans suspected to be victims of human trafficking.