[Exclusive] Cambodian criminal gangs target Koreans for bank accounts and ransom

[Anchor]

So, why are criminal organizations in Cambodia targeting Koreans like this?

The reasons involve bank accounts needed for the crime.

Koreans often have corporate bank accounts with high transaction limits, and opening these accounts is easy, making them targets for criminal organizations.

Next, we have a report from Lee Won-hee.

[Report]

People who were kidnapped while in Cambodia were needed by the criminal organization for their bank accounts.

[Kidnapped Victim A/voice altered: "I run a corporate business. (The transaction limit for the corporate account) is around 80 million won."]

[Kidnapped Victim B/voice altered: "(If you create a personal) securities account, the daily transfer limit is about 1 billion won."]

They steal bank accounts to receive money from victims of leading room scams or voice phishing, and kidnap and confine them to prevent them from accessing the criminal proceeds.

The criminal organization lures people with the bait of "high-paying part-time jobs" to secure the bank accounts.

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "You know Tether (coin), right? They said I would be doing currency exchange work."]

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "(The salary) is from 5 hundred thousand to at least 1 million won, with no fees. And there are incentives."]

At first, they are friendly.

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "They put me up in a fancy hotel."]

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "Everyone drives nice cars, so it looks like they are making good money."]

At some point, the coercion and threats to secure bank accounts begin.

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "If you lend me your bank account, you'll get an extra 1.5 million won in salary each week."]

[Employment Scam Victim/voice altered: "If you want to earn more reliably, they also ask you to bring a corporate account."]

If they refuse to hand over the account, they are dragged into the criminal facility, where beatings and torture begin.

Afterward, the organization demands tens of millions of won from them for referral fees and living expenses, even extracting ransom through their families.

[Proxy for Fake Bank Accounts/voice altered: "If they are clumsy at work, they sell them to other factories. They get paid 20 million won. There’s still a lot to exploit from Koreans."]

Recently, the National Intelligence Service has identified that kidnappings of Koreans are occurring not just for bank accounts but also to extract ransom from the beginning.

This is Lee Won-hee from KBS News.