Seoul, Oct 15 The South Korean foreign ministry said on Wednesday it launched a task force at its Embassy in Cambodia as part of efforts to respond to the widening job scam crisis involving the trafficking and torture of Korean nationals.
Park Il, former ambassador to Lebanon, will work as the de facto head of the mission in Phnom Penh to oversee affairs related to the job scams, engage closely with Cambodian authorities and seek their cooperation to resolve the issue, the ministry said in a release.
The ambassador post in Cambodia has remained vacant since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung government, and the absence has been cited by critics as a reason contributing to what they call the government's lax responses, Yonhap news agency reported.
Park will assume the role until a new ambassador is formally appointed, the ministry said.
The task force also consists of officials from the ministry's consular affairs, development cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations bureaus.
Park, who previously served in Lebanon, successfully led an evacuation operation that brought 97 South Korean nationals and their family members back home amid the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in October last year.
The task force launch came as Seoul is making all-out efforts to tackle the crimes targeting its nationals in Cambodia, following public shock over the brutal torture death of a South Korean college student.
A separate joint government response team from Seoul is also set to depart for Cambodia on Wednesday night to address the situation and work on plans to repatriate some 60 South Koreans detained in Cambodia over their alleged involvement in the scams.
On Tuesday, police said that they seek to bring all 63 nationals confined in Cambodia back home within one month as part of efforts to respond to sprawling crimes targeting Koreans in the Southeast Asian nation.
The National Police Agency (NPA) said it would prioritise efforts to bring back the South Korean nationals in custody while dispatching two more police officers to South Korea's diplomatic mission in Cambodia, which currently stands at three.
The 63 nationals, whose repatriation is being sought by police, are believed to be among those caught in Cambodian crackdowns on online scam operations in July and September.
According to the foreign ministry, roughly 90 South Koreans were arrested in those raids, and about 60 remain in custody. A ministry official said on condition of anonymity that many of the detainees are thought to have participated voluntarily in the scams.
Also, as part of measures to protect South Korean citizens, the NPA will operate a team under its National Office of Investigation to handle crimes targeting South Koreans in Cambodia and to look into possible links with criminal groups operating in South Korea.
Police plan to investigate all criminal activities targeting South Koreans in Cambodia. A total of 255 such cases had been reported to the foreign ministry and not to the police as of the end of August this year.
It will also station police officers at Incheon International Airport to raise public awareness about employment scams in the Southeast Asian country.
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