Seoul, Nov 6 South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit Cambodia next week to discuss ways to cooperate on combating scam crimes in the Southeast Asian country, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, amid concerns about online scam operations targeting South Korean nationals.
Cho will visit Phnom Penh from Sunday to Tuesday to meet senior Cambodian government officials, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said at a regular press briefing, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The death of a South Korean university student, who was allegedly lured into Cambodia by a criminal ring, has triggered public outcry here, prompting the government to send a delegation to the country to address crimes against its citizens.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to set up a joint task force to investigate online scams targeting South Koreans on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Kuala Lumpur last month.
During the meeting, the two leaders agreed to operate a Cambodia-based task force starting in November.
"Active discussions" are underway between the police forces from both countries to launch the joint task force as soon as possible, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee said, adding they are in the final stages of negotiations over a memorandum of understanding.
"The operation of such a task force will significantly help our citizens resolve issues regarding scam crimes in Cambodia," he said.
Lee noted that South Koreans are currently "highly sensitive" to scam-related crimes following recent incidents and expressed gratitude for Cambodia's attention to the safety of Korean nationals, calling for closer coordination to jointly tackle such crimes.
During the meeting, Manet offered condolences over the death of the Korean student who was lured to work in a scam centre in Cambodia, calling the death "an unfortunate incident".
Manet said Cambodian authorities acted swiftly to crack down on the scam centres and arrested perpetrators, pledging closer cooperation to tackle cross-border crimes, including drug and human trafficking.
"This is not an issue for a single country. It is a regional issue," Manet said, underscoring the need for multilateral efforts to address rising transnational crimes in Southeast Asia.
During the talks, Lee said he will instruct the government to consider lowering the travel advisory in some regions in Cambodia, including Phnom Penh, after assessing the security situation and in light of the launch of the joint investigative force dedicated to Koreans, according to the spokesperson.
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