Korean Student Kidnapped and Killed in Cambodia; Family Still Unable to Receive Body After Over a Month

University Student in His Twenties Visited Cambodia During Summer Vacation
Over Ten Koreans Rescued From Captivity, But Student Dies
Found Dead Two Weeks After Last Contact

Amid a continuing wave of job placement scams and kidnapping and confinement crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia, it has been reported that a university student from North Gyeongsang Province has died. The family is said to have been unable to receive the body for over a month.

On October 9, Andong MBC reported that while more than ten Koreans who had been held captive by a local crime syndicate in Cambodia were recently rescued by Cambodian police, one individual was ultimately found dead. The deceased was identified as a university student in his twenties from Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. According to the report, student A left for Cambodia last July, telling his family he would attend a local expo during his summer vacation. However, a week later, an international call was received from his number, but the caller was a man speaking with a Chinese-Korean accent. This man demanded more than 50 million won as a condition for returning A to Korea.

The family reported the incident to the Korean Embassy in Cambodia and to Korean police. The police advised them not to send any money. The embassy instructed them to report the case to the local Cambodian police, providing A's location and photographs, but the family in Korea had no way of knowing where A was being held. Meanwhile, communication between the kidnapper and A was cut off after four days. Ultimately, two weeks later, A was found dead in Cambodia. According to Cambodian police, the cause of death was "cardiac arrest due to torture and extreme pain."

A's last known location was presumed to be near the Bokor Mountain crime complex in Kampot Province, Cambodia, where many Koreans had been held captive. More than 40 days after his death, A has still not been returned to Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We are requesting a prompt investigation from the Cambodian judicial authorities," but declined to provide further details.

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency and the local Cambodian police are each investigating the circumstances that led A to Cambodia and the crime syndicate that held him captive.

Reports of kidnapping and confinement cases in Cambodia surged from 17 in 2023 to 251 as of July this year, nearly a 15-fold increase.