SEOUL, South Korea — Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were returned to South Korea on Friday to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad.
The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won ($33 million), according to a South Korean government statement.
Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses.
They were among about 260 South Koreans detained in a crackdown in Cambodia in recent months.
“When it comes to crimes that harm our people, we’ll track down and arrest those involved to the very end and get them to face corresponding consequences,” senior police officer Yoo Seung Ryul told a televised briefing at the airport.
Public outrage over scam centers in Southeast Asia flared in South Korea when a Korean student was found dead last summer after reportedly being forced to work at a scam compound in Cambodia. Authorities said at the time he died after being tortured and beaten, and South Korea sent a government delegation to Cambodia in October for talks on a joint response.
The suspects repatriated Friday include a couple who allegedly operated a deepfake romance scam to dupe 12 billion won ($8.2 million) from about 100 people in fraudulent investment schemes