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South Korean society has recently been highly focused on the issue of scam operations in Cambodia. While most South Korean victims trafficked to Cambodia so far have been men, women are also being targeted.
In one reported case, a South Korean woman who initially traveled to Cambodia for a Japanese translator job was deceived and forced to become a vulgar livestreamer.
According to recent reports, 30-year-old Kim Min-ha (pseudonym) arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in April 2024 after accepting a translation job offer. However, her arrival marked the beginning of a descent into what she described as "hell".
She was picked up at the airport by a fellow South Korean, who appeared polite and is reportedly a searchable actor and model online. Upon meeting her, he smiled and told her, "This job isn't difficult."
That promise, however, was a trap.
After a four-hour drive, Kim arrived at an apartment near the beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. And after messaging her family on social media to inform them of her safe arrival, three stranger men burst into the room and demanded she hand over her phone.
When Kim resisted slightly, they overpowered her violently, swiftly seizing her phone and passport.
From that point on, Kim was forced to work as a humiliating livestreamer. She was coerced into undressing and sitting in front of the camera, begging viewers for virtual gifts.
A performance chart displaying the required "donations" was constantly posted on the wall. Failure to meet the daily targets resulted in verbal abuse and physical beatings.
She wasn't the only woman suffering this fate; screams of "Save me!" intermittently came from the adjacent rooms.
Kim spent her days in a perpetually lit room, enduring the ordeal under the unblinking gaze of the camera's light.
After Kim went missing, her family began searching for her. A photo she sent to her family upon arriving at the apartment became the crucial clue leading to her rescue.
A South Korean expatriate who had lived in Sihanoukville for 20 years traced her location based on the sea and islands visible in the photo. After searching the Sihanoukville area for a month, he pinpointed the building where Kim was held.
This man, along with Cambodian police officers he knew, raided the building and rescued Kim.
Upon her safe return to South Korea, Kim learned an even more horrifying truth: the South Korean man who picked her up at the airport had received 5 million won (approximately $2,500) from a local fraud syndicate in exchange for selling her to the criminal organization.
According to local media reports, the entrance to the Sihanoukville building where Kim was imprisoned still has guards posted. These individuals pretend to look at their phones while vigilantly scanning their surroundings. A local driver accompanying journalists cautioned in a low voice, "They seem to have recognized us. Absolutely do not get out of the car."
Experts in South Korea emphasize the need for the country to establish a standardized response mechanism to protect its citizens. Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of the Police and Judicial Science Department at Dongguk University stated, "A 'Korean office' should be established in Cambodia to ensure real-time communication between the police forces of both countries."
On October 20, Yoo Jae-seung, acting Commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency, and Chea Pov, Deputy Commissioner General of the Cambodian National Police, held talks and agreed to establish a 24-hour hotline between the two countries. However, they did not reach an agreement on establishing a new "Korean office."
Source: The Red Star News, Jimu News
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.*
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