(Image from AKP News Agency homepage /Yonhap)

Cambodian authorities have charged three Chinese nationals arrested as suspects in the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean student, sparking international controversy.

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo news agency reported that Cambodian authorities have arrested three members of a Chinese criminal organization involved in voice phishing crimes in the country and charged them as suspects in the torture and murder of a South Korean student a few months ago.

One of the arrested individuals is suspected of being behind the 2013"Gangnam Drug Drink Case," in which a suspect distributed drug drinks to 13 students in the Daechi-dong School District of Gangnam District, Seoul, under the pretense of free samples. South Korean police have launched an investigation.

Chinese call center gangs based in Cambodia, once considered a popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia, are targeting South Koreans and the number of cases has been steadily increasing in recent years.

The Kampot Provincial Court's prosecutor's office in Cambodia said three Chinese nationals were arrested consecutively and charged on October 11 in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old South Korean student, identified only as"A," who was found dead in a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province on August 8.

That same month, local police arrested two Chinese nationals at the scene, inside the car where Mr. A's body was found. Additionally, during an investigation into a residential building in the Bokor Mountains where Mr. A was held before his death, another Chinese national was arrested, and the investigation is ongoing. Recently, Cambodian police uncovered evidence that members of a Chinese criminal organization had been committing crimes such as voice phishing and romance scams at the building. Local police subsequently surrounded the building and seized evidence. During this time, 14 South Koreans who were detained were rescued.

Another victim, identified only as Mr. B, who was arrested in the same building as Mr. A, provided information to the office of Rep. Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party of Korea, which is following Mr. A's case after receiving a request for assistance from the victim's family.

Mr. B stated,"Mr. A was so badly beaten he could barely breathe. I heard he died in the car while being taken to the hospital."

Mr. A, from Yecheon City, North Gyeongsang Province, traveled to Cambodia on July 17, telling his family he was attending a festival. But about a week later, his family received a phone call from an unknown individual demanding a ransom of 50 million won (approximately 1.15 million baht), claiming the student was"causing trouble," but did not specify what the problem was.

But contact was cut off four days later, and Mr. A was eventually found dead on August 8th, with a preliminary autopsy indicating he died of a heart attack caused by the pain of the torture.

Mr A's body has been kept at a temple in Phnom Penh for nearly two months, and South Korea plans to send police to Cambodia later this month to conduct an autopsy on Mr A's body, along with Cambodian officials.

The incident has gained widespread attention amid a sharp rise in crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia.

According to data from the South Korean Foreign Ministry submitted to Congressman Park Chan-dae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, between January and August this year, there were 330 cases of abduction or detention of South Koreans in Cambodia, up from 221 in 2024, 21 in 2023, 11 in 2022 and four in 2021.

The alarming rise in cases has sparked a diplomatic row between South Korea and Cambodia, with the Foreign Ministry summoning the Cambodian ambassador on Friday to express concern and urging the Cambodian government to cooperate with South Korean authorities in setting up a Korean chapter to assist victims.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry also announced that it has raised its travel alert for Phnom Penh and several other cities in Cambodia from Level 2 to"special," which means that civilians should avoid traveling to the declared cities or leave them if they are there, effective at 9 p.m. local time Friday (Oct 10).