Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia have returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of criminal suspects from abroad.
The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow citizens out of 48.6 billion won ($A48 million), according to a South Korean government statement.
Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon airport aboard a chartered plane on Friday, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations.
Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses.
They were among about 260 South Koreans detained in a crackdown in Cambodia in recent months.
“When it comes to crimes that harm our people, we’ll track down and arrest those involved to the very end and get them to face corresponding consequences,” senior police officer Yoo Seung Ryul told a televised briefing at the airport.
Public outrage over scam centres in Southeast Asia flared in South Korea when a Korean student was found dead last summer after reportedly being forced to work at a scam compound in Cambodia.
Authorities said at the time he died after being tortured and beaten, and South Korea sent a government delegation to Cambodia in October for talks on a joint response.
The suspects repatriated on Friday include a couple who allegedly operated a deepfake romance scam to dupe 12 billion won ($A12.0 million) from about 100 people in fraudulent investment schemes.
South Korea has made various efforts to bring them back home, including more than 10 rounds of video meetings with Cambodian officials, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
At the airport briefing, senior Foreign Ministry official Yoo Byung-seok expressed gratitude to the Cambodian government over Friday’s repatriation.
He said South Korea hopes to continue close bilateral coordination until online scams targeting South Koreans are eradicated in Cambodia.
Cybercrime has flourished in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, as trafficked foreign nationals were employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often after being recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery.
According to estimates from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, scam victims worldwide lost between $US18 billion ($A26 billion) and $US37 billion ($A54 billion) in 2023.
In January, Cambodia said it had arrested and extradited to China a tycoon accused of running a huge online scam operation.
Since October, about 130 South Korean scam suspects from Cambodia as well as more than 20 such Korean suspects from Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have been sent back home.
After Friday’s repatriation, about 60 South Koreans will remain detained in Cambodia awaiting repatriation, according to police.
South Korean officials said in October that about 1000 South Koreans were estimated to be in scam centres in Cambodia.
Some are believed to be forced labourers.
On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for stern responses to transnational cybercrimes that he said erode mutual trust in society and trigger diplomatic disputes with other countries.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
