October 17, 2025 | 10:45 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The South Korean government has imposed a "code-black" travel ban on parts of Cambodia on Wednesday, October 15. Seoul also dispatched a team of high-level officials to assist its citizens who have been lured to work in fraud complexes and to secure the release of those being held against their will.
As reported by Eurasia Review, it is estimated that more than 1,000 South Koreans are part of the 200,000 individuals from various countries involved in the scam compounds in Cambodia, based on a statement from the South Korean National Security Advisor, Wi Sung-lac.
"The Bokor Mountain area in Kampot Province, Bavet City, and Poipet City are designated as travel ban zones," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, as reported by CNA.
"South Korean nationals visiting or staying in those areas may be subject to penalties under the Passport Act and other relevant regulations. Citizens planning to travel to such areas are therefore strongly advised to cancel their trips," the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Why Does South Korea Issue Code-Black Travel Ban?
The code-black travel ban is a response to the death of a South Korean student kidnapped and tortured in Cambodia.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced their intention to send a team to address the emerging fraud issue due to the existing job crisis in South Korea.
He also instructed all relevant ministries to make every effort to repatriate South Korean citizens there, according to a report from Anadolu.
The Head of the National Police Agency's Investigation Office, Park Sung-joo, will coordinate with Cambodian authorities to repatriate detained South Koreans and discuss a joint investigation into the student's death.
For the past decade, Cambodia has been a destination for online scams from China and Taiwan, due to loose regulations and cheap internet prices there.
In 2019, China banned online gambling. The existing operations in Cambodia redirected their market to casinos in Cambodia, instead of ceasing operations.
These operations have now developed into an organized criminal operation with a wide range of violations. According to Amnesty International, "the horrifying magnitude of a crisis the Cambodian authorities are not doing enough to stop. Their failures have emboldened a criminal network whose tentacles extend internationally, with millions of people impacted by the scams."
The release issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh also stated that Indonesia has been a victim of online scams. From January to March 2025 alone, there were 1,301 cases of online scams against Indonesian nationals in Cambodia, marking a 174 percent increase from the previous year.
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