South Korea Issues 45 Arrest Warrants in Cambodian Scam Case

South Korean police have announced that arrest warrants have been issued for 45 suspects recently deported from Cambodia over alleged involvement in large-scale cyberscam operations. The individuals are believed to be part of organised online fraud networks that have drawn regional and international concern.

An official from the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency confirmed on Monday: “Believing that detention was necessary, we have requested arrest warrants for all 45 suspects.”

The official declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

A total of 64 South Korean nationals, previously detained in Cambodia for their alleged participation in scam activities, were repatriated to Seoul on Saturday aboard a chartered flight. Upon landing, they were immediately arrested by South Korean authorities and escorted from the aircraft in handcuffs.

According to police, 45 of the suspects were transferred to Chungnam Province, while 19 others were distributed across other regions for investigation and prosecution.

Seoul’s National Police Agency estimates that approximately 200,000 people operate within cyber-fraud syndicates across Cambodia, with around 1,000 South Koreans allegedly among them.

Many individuals were reportedly coerced into participating under threats of violence or confinement, while others joined voluntarily for financial gain. These operations frequently involve “pig butchering” scams — elaborate schemes in which criminals cultivate online relationships with victims, often posing as investors or romantic partners, before persuading them to transfer large sums of money into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.

“Some of these suspects are believed to have been involved in various types of financial fraud, including voice phishing, romance scams and the so-called ‘no-show’ fraud,” said Park Sung-joo, head of the National Office of Investigation.

The repatriations come amid widespread public outrage in South Korea following the torture and murder of a South Korean student in Cambodia earlier this year, allegedly by members of a criminal syndicate tied to the scam industry. The case has intensified scrutiny over the involvement of South Koreans in Southeast Asian fraud networks and prompted diplomatic engagement between Seoul and Phnom Penh.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac clarified that among the detained individuals were both “voluntary and involuntary participants” in the scams, underscoring the complexity of dismantling such international criminal operations.

The South Korean government has pledged to strengthen cooperation with Cambodian authorities to combat cybercrime, rescue coerced citizens, and prosecute ringleaders behind the transnational fraud networks.

The arrests mark one of South Korea’s most extensive crackdowns on overseas cybercrime to date, signalling a firm intent to confront what officials describe as a “shadow economy of deception” spreading across Asia’s digital landscape.