Police to Repatriate 73 Cambodian Scam Syndicate Members to Korea... Largest Operation Ever

The National Police Agency announced on January 22 that it will forcibly repatriate 73 South Korean suspects (65 men and 8 women) who, based in Cambodia, defrauded 869 South Korean nationals of approximately 48.6 billion won.

National Police Agency

According to the police, this is the largest-ever repatriation of criminal suspects to date. They are scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 9 a.m. on January 23.

The group includes the so-called "romance scam couple fraud ring," which was unable to be repatriated last October. Exploiting deepfake technology to impersonate virtual characters, they stole around 12 billion won from 104 South Korean victims. In order to evade the law, they used cunning tactics such as altering their appearance through plastic surgery.

Also being repatriated are various offenders: fugitives who committed sex crimes against minors and then fled to Cambodia to join scam operations; the ringleader of a fraud syndicate who impersonated investment experts to swindle about 19.4 billion won from young adults starting their careers and retirees; and members of inhumane criminal organizations who held victims captive in scam compounds, used them as hostages to blackmail families in South Korea, and extorted money and valuables.

The Korea Task Force dispatched to Cambodia, the National Intelligence Service, and local Cambodian police identified seven scam compounds after a prolonged investigation. In December of last year, they successfully apprehended 51 members of a scam group in Sihanoukville, 15 in Poipet, and 26 in Mondulkiri.

An official from the National Police Agency stated, "We will continue to respond strictly, led by the Special Task Force on Transnational Crime, until all types of scam crimes targeting South Koreans from overseas bases are completely eradicated."