The Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director of the National Intelligence Service also departed the country..."Considering designating Cambodia a travel ban zone"

As of today, 63 people are detained by Cambodian authorities... The plan to repatriate all is clear.

The National Police Agency has launched an international cooperation body, and an agreement has been reached on a joint task force to address Korea-Cambodia scams.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Lim Hyeong-seop and Hwang Yun-gi = The Blue House announced on the 14th that the government has decided to dispatch a 'joint government response team' led by Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jin-ah to Cambodia on the 15th in response to the ongoing kidnapping and detention of Korean nationals there.

Kim Nam-joon, the presidential spokesperson, reported in a briefing that this matter was discussed at the Cabinet meeting held this morning presided over by President Lee Jae-myung.

In addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Police Agency and the National Intelligence Service are expected to participate in the response team.

In particular, Park Sung-joo, the head of the National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency, will also depart for Cambodia as a member of the response team to discuss plans to repatriate detained Koreans with Cambodian authorities and to jointly investigate the torture death of a Korean university student that occurred there.

In addition, it was decided to quickly conduct autopsies and transport the bodies of the victims who have already passed away.

The National Police Agency plans to proactively launch an international cooperation body and conduct joint operations to respond to kidnappings and detentions of our citizens occurring in ASEAN countries.

Separately, the Korean and Cambodian governments agreed to form a 'Joint Scam Response Task Force (TF)' with the participation of investigative authorities, including police, from both countries.

When asked whether there are plans to cooperate with local military and police forces in ASEAN countries to crack down on organized crime, Spokesperson Kim stated,"It is difficult to say for sure as it is a matter that can be decided after consultation," but reiterated,"The government's policy is to not be negligent in protecting the lives and safety of citizens not only in Cambodia but also in other countries."

Spokesperson Kim stated regarding the number of Korean nationals detained by Cambodian investigative authorities,"As of today, I understand there are 63," adding,"However, the number may vary."

The government plans to closely consult with the Cambodian government on ways to arrange special flights for their return. Regarding their alleged crimes, the government plans to investigate them after their repatriation and take legal action.

When asked if there had been any discussion on what to do if they refused to be repatriated, he replied,"There are many variables, but the policy of 'we will repatriate all of our citizens' is clear."

Regarding the issue of establishing a local Korean desk (a police officer dedicated to handling Korean-American cases), which is being discussed as a countermeasure to crime, he explained,"We are pushing for the establishment as there have been successful precedents of similar methods, but we have not yet received a response from the Cambodian side."

Crime prevention measures will also be strengthened.

First, it was decided to review raising the travel alert for major crime areas in Cambodia to Level 4 (areas where travel is prohibited), and to reinforce the staff at the Cambodian Embassy, including having the ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters stay there until the new ambassador takes office and increasing the number of police officers stationed there.

In Korea, we have decided to strengthen monitoring of overseas job advertisements, actively punish perpetrators of related criminal acts, and expand publicity efforts to raise awareness.

Spokesperson Kim said that in Korea, a special national reporting period will be held in October to minimize the number of missing cases.