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South Korea to Fly Home About 60 Scam-Case Detainees From Cambodia Early Saturday

Officials say returnees face immediate arrest, with inquiries to determine coercion versus culpability.

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Oct. 17, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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Workers ride their motor-cart loaded with glass past a branch of the Prince Bank in Phnom Penh on October 15, 2025. US authorities on October 14 unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi, a UK-Cambodian businessman accused of running forced labor camps in Cambodia where trafficked workers carried out cryptocurrency fraud schemes that netted billions of dollars. The 37-year-old, known as Vincent, founded Prince Holding Group, a multinational conglomerate that authorities say served as a front for "one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations," according to the US Department of Justice. Since around 2015, Prince Group has operated across more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses, prosecutors said. (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP) (Photo by TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said a chartered plane is set to leave Phnom Penh around 2 a.m. Saturday (KST) with police escorts, and that Korean arrest warrants will take effect once the detainees board.
  • Seoul said repatriation details are still being finalized with Cambodian authorities, following Cambodia’s police announcement that 59 South Koreans would be deported this week.
  • A joint response team led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na met Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh and inspected suspected scam compounds to coordinate investigations and returns.
  • South Korea’s “code-black” travel ban now covers Bokor Mountain, Bavet and Poipet after a surge in scam-related abductions and the confirmed torture death of student Park Min-ho in August.
  • Global enforcement is intensifying, with the U.S. Justice Department seizing nearly $15 billion in cryptocurrency and charging UK-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi over forced-labor scam operations.