South Korea brings home 73 scam suspects from Cambodia.
Richard Connor Reporting on stories from around the world, with a particular focus on Europe — especially Germany.
01/23/2026
Seventy-three Korean criminal suspects who committed various crimes in Cambodia including a romance scam couple ring that stole 12 billion South Korean won using deepfake technology arrive after being repatriated to South Korea via Incheon International Airport
Upon arrival, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stationsImage: Lee Sang-hoon/Matrix Images/picture alliance
Dozens of suspected online scammers have been returned aboard a chartered flight to face investigation. The cases include deepfake scams, with public anger growing over fraud rings operating out of Southeast Asia.
South Korean officials on Friday said 73 nationals suspected of running online scam operations had been returned from Cambodia aboard a chartered flight to face questioning at home.
It is the largest-ever group return of South Korean criminal suspects, with public outrage over foreign scam compounds having intensified after a South Korean college student was found dead in Cambodia.
What do we know about the repatriation?
The plane landed at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Television footage showed 65 men and eight women arriving in handcuffs and masks before boarding buses to be taken to police stations.
Authorities say the suspects allegedly defrauded 869 South Koreans of about 48.6 billion won ($33 million, €28.5 million).
Investigators identified seven scam centers in Cambodia linked to the group, which includes a couple accused of extorting roughly 12 billion won from more than 100 victims in romance scams using deepfake technology. Officials said the pair may have undergone plastic surgery to evade identification.
Anger over the operations flared in South Korea when a student from the country was found dead after reportedly being forced to work at a scam compound in Cambodia. He was found to have been tortured and beaten.
Senior police officer Yoo Seung Ryul said authorities would pursue those involved in crimes harming South Koreans “to the very end” and ensure they face consequences.
How widespread are the scam operations?
The suspects were among about 260 South Koreans detained in recent months as part of a crackdown coordinated between Seoul and Phnom Penh. A spokesperson for the presidential office said the repatriation followed a joint investigation by both countries.
Scam factory: Behind Asia’s cyber slavery
Since October, about 130 South Korean scam suspects from Cambodia, along with more than 20 from Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, have been repatriated, police said. After Friday’s latest returns, about 60 South Koreans remain detained in Cambodia awaiting repatriation.
Scam center workers are often victims of human trafficking, with people from a wide variety of different Asian countries being made to work for them.
South Korea sent a government delegation to Cambodia for talks on a joint response last October after the student’s death. At that time, Seoul estimated that about 1,000 of its citizens were in scam centers in the country, some of them forced to stay.
Cybercrime has surged across Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, where trafficked foreign nationals have been forced to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The agency said victims worldwide lost an estimated $18 billion to $37 billion to scams in 2023. Many workers were recruited with false job offers and then compelled to operate fraud schemes in conditions approaching modern slavery.
Earlier this month, Cambodian authorities arrested and extradited to China a tycoon accused of running a large online crypto scam network.
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South Korea brings home 73 scam suspects from Cambodia.
Richard Connor Reporting on stories from around the world, with a particular focus on Europe — especially Germany.
01/23/2026
Seventy-three Korean criminal suspects who committed various crimes in Cambodia including a romance scam couple ring that stole 12 billion South Korean won using deepfake technology arrive after being repatriated to South Korea via Incheon International Airport
Upon arrival, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stationsImage: Lee Sang-hoon/Matrix Images/picture alliance
Dozens of suspected online scammers have been returned aboard a chartered flight to face investigation. The cases include deepfake scams, with public anger growing over fraud rings operating out of Southeast Asia.
South Korean officials on Friday said 73 nationals suspected of running online scam operations had been returned from Cambodia aboard a chartered flight to face questioning at home.
It is the largest-ever group return of South Korean criminal suspects, with public outrage over foreign scam compounds having intensified after a South Korean college student was found dead in Cambodia.
What do we know about the repatriation?
The plane landed at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Television footage showed 65 men and eight women arriving in handcuffs and masks before boarding buses to be taken to police stations.
Authorities say the suspects allegedly defrauded 869 South Koreans of about 48.6 billion won ($33 million, €28.5 million).
Investigators identified seven scam centers in Cambodia linked to the group, which includes a couple accused of extorting roughly 12 billion won from more than 100 victims in romance scams using deepfake technology. Officials said the pair may have undergone plastic surgery to evade identification.
Anger over the operations flared in South Korea when a student from the country was found dead after reportedly being forced to work at a scam compound in Cambodia. He was found to have been tortured and beaten.
Senior police officer Yoo Seung Ryul said authorities would pursue those involved in crimes harming South Koreans “to the very end” and ensure they face consequences.
How widespread are the scam operations?
The suspects were among about 260 South Koreans detained in recent months as part of a crackdown coordinated between Seoul and Phnom Penh. A spokesperson for the presidential office said the repatriation followed a joint investigation by both countries.
Scam factory: Behind Asia’s cyber slavery
Since October, about 130 South Korean scam suspects from Cambodia, along with more than 20 from Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, have been repatriated, police said. After Friday’s latest returns, about 60 South Koreans remain detained in Cambodia awaiting repatriation.
Scam center workers are often victims of human trafficking, with people from a wide variety of different Asian countries being made to work for them.
South Korea sent a government delegation to Cambodia for talks on a joint response last October after the student’s death. At that time, Seoul estimated that about 1,000 of its citizens were in scam centers in the country, some of them forced to stay.
Cybercrime has surged across Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, where trafficked foreign nationals have been forced to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The agency said victims worldwide lost an estimated $18 billion to $37 billion to scams in 2023. Many workers were recruited with false job offers and then compelled to operate fraud schemes in conditions approaching modern slavery.
Earlier this month, Cambodian authorities arrested and extradited to China a tycoon accused of running a large online crypto scam network.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery