S. Korea strengthens cooperation with Cambodia against investment chatroom scams

[Anchor]

Last month, KBS reported continuously on the situation of illegal reading rooms in Cambodia.

We focused on exposing large-scale criminal organizations that are committing various crimes such as employment fraud and kidnapping against Koreans.

Our police have decided to visit Cambodia to strengthen investigative cooperation.

Reporter Woo Han-sol has the story.

[Report]

A 'criminal complex' in Cambodia is committing various cyber crimes, including reading room scams.

[KBS News9/Oct. 22: "There are three criminal complexes in Cambodia that our intelligence agencies have identified."]

Evidence of employment fraud and kidnapping targeting Koreans has also been confirmed.

[Kidnapped victim/voice altered/Oct. 22: "(A Cambodian) took out a gun and held it to my thigh. Then a Chinese person in front said through a (mobile phone) translation, 'Stay still.'"]

After the KBS report, our police visited Cambodia to discuss measures with the Cambodian police.

National Office of Investigation Chief Woo Jong-soo met with Deputy Chief of the Cambodian National Police, Dy Vichea, to exchange information about the realities of such criminal complexes.

They shared investigative techniques of our police to enhance the capabilities of the local police and discussed response measures for transnational crimes between the two countries.

Additionally, measures for arresting suspects were also discussed, and it appears that arrests were requested for individuals under investigation, as they are typically subject to arrest warrants and red notices.

It has been reported that the Cambodian police have expressed their willingness to actively cooperate with such requests.

Previously, the Cambodian police cracked down on one of the criminal complexes known as the 'Mango Complex,' but no Korean victims were confirmed by the local police.

However, this year, there have been 180 confirmed cases of employment fraud and confinement targeting Koreans in Cambodia, which is more than ten times the number from last year.

The Korean embassy has one police liaison officer stationed there, and the National Police Agency dispatched an additional inspector-level liaison officer last month.

KBS News, Woo Han-sol.