Ministry of Education Requests Complete Ban on University Training and Volunteer Activities in Cambodia

Emergency Response Meeting Led by Minister on the 17th
Caution Urged Against Employment Scams and Abductions

The Ministry of Education has requested all universities and colleges across the country to completely prohibit students and faculty from visiting Cambodia in response to the recent death of a Korean university student in Cambodia. The ministry has also decided to distribute a notice to each university containing preventive measures to ensure that students are not lured by high-paying job offers and do not become involved in employment scams, abductions, or other criminal activities.

Yonhap News Agency

On the morning of October 17, Minister of Education Choi Kyojin held an emergency response meeting at the Government Complex Sejong with the presidents of university and college student affairs offices to discuss measures for the safety and protection of students at universities and colleges, as well as ways to prevent further incidents.

Minister Choi stated, "Based on the discussions at today's meeting, we plan to distribute a notice to all four-year universities and colleges nationwide to urge students to exercise caution and prevent similar incidents from occurring." He added, "We will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Police Agency, and other relevant agencies to thoroughly manage student safety and prevent accidents."

Previously, the Ministry of Education sent an official letter to universities across the country, emphasizing the importance of checking safety information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and adhering to safety guidelines to prevent further incidents. The ministry also banned faculty training and student volunteer activities in travel advisory regions such as Cambodia.

The ministry also called for universities to strengthen their own preventive education and safety management. It emphasized the need for university headquarters, including student affairs, career support, and international exchange departments, as well as student councils, to cooperate in providing preventive education and managing safety at the university level.

Although all government ministries are now responding to the situation in Cambodia, some have pointed out that preventive measures should have been implemented earlier. During last year’s National Assembly audit, lawmakers from the People Power Party highlighted the seriousness of the situation in Cambodia and called for countermeasures. Assemblyman Kim Gun pointed out the surge in cases of Koreans being kidnapped and detained in Cambodia, while Assemblyman Kim Sanghoon demanded the establishment of a "Korea Desk" (a police officer dedicated to handling Korean cases) within the Cambodian police. He also called for a cooperative system with the Cambodian government to allow proxy reporting in emergencies and requested that measures be put in place for this.

However, no concrete follow-up measures were taken by the government after these issues were raised during the audit. The Korea Desk remains unrealized even as the situation in Cambodia has worsened, and cooperation between the two countries is reportedly not proceeding smoothly. On October 13, Yoo Jaeseong, acting commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated at a press conference, "It is true that police cooperation with Cambodia is not as smooth as with other Southeast Asian countries." The government has announced major measures such as the establishment of a Korea Desk, but there are opinions that immediate implementation is difficult. The process of concluding a memorandum of understanding with the Cambodian authorities and discussing the scale of personnel dispatch inevitably takes time.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Wi Seongon of the Democratic Party of Korea revealed that last year the Ministry of the Interior and Safety rejected a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to increase the number of police officers stationed at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia, citing that the increase in workload due to incidents did not justify additional personnel.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of reports of Koreans being detained or missing in Cambodia rose sharply from 11 cases in 2022 to 21 in 2023, 221 last year, and 330 as of August this year.