73 Korean Gang Members Deported from Cambodia Arrive in Shorts and Slippers

[The Financial News] Seventy-three Korean gang members (65 men and 8 women) who committed fraud and robbery involving hostage-taking against Korean nationals in Cambodia have been forcibly repatriated. This is the fourth time that Korean offenders have been collectively brought back from overseas on a chartered flight, and it is the largest-ever repatriation from a single country.
The 73 suspects, escorted by the Pan-Governmental Task Force on Transnational Crime (TF), appeared at the arrivals hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 at about 10:55 a.m. on the 23rd. Their appearance came roughly one hour and ten minutes after the chartered plane landed at Incheon International Airport at 9:41 a.m. that day.
Many of those arriving from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, were dressed in shorts and wearing slippers, reflecting the tropical climate they had just left. Some, however, came off the plane in fur-lined coats as if preparing for the sub-zero temperatures of minus 2 degrees Celsius in Korea. Because many wore caps pulled low and masks over their faces, their expressions were largely hidden, but a few appeared dazed, with vacant stares, being "led out" by escorting officers.
According to the TF, the 73 suspects were immediately transferred from the arrivals hall to investigative units at provincial and metropolitan police agencies across the country, where they will be held in detention cells and questioned. Their arrest warrants were executed at around 10:15 a.m., when they boarded the government-chartered aircraft. Under the Nationality Act, the interior of a Korean-flagged aircraft is considered the territory of the Republic of Korea, so the warrants take effect as soon as the suspects board.
Specifically, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency will handle 49 suspects. The Criminal Mobile Unit of the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency will investigate 17. The Criminal Mobile Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) will take one suspect, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the SMPA will take another, and the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency will handle one more. The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency will investigate two suspects, the Changwon Jungbu Police Station under the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency will handle one, and the Seocho Police Station under the SMPA will investigate one suspect.
Security at Incheon International Airport was extremely tight. Around the transport vehicles, police special forces armed with rifles were deployed, and a total of 181 officers were mobilized to maintain order.
The TF, which includes the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was responsible for apprehending and repatriating the suspects. The 73 individuals are accused of defrauding 869 Korean victims of about 48.6 billion won. Of them, 70 face charges related to romance scams and operating investment "leading" chat rooms that offered stock tips, while the remaining three are suspected of robbery involving hostage-taking and illegal gambling.
Among those repatriated are two members of a married couple who ran a romance scam scheme. They allegedly used deepfake technology—AI-generated fake photos and videos—to pose as fictitious personas and, through such methods, swindled 104 Koreans out of roughly 12 billion won.
The TF emphasized that it worked in close cooperation with the judicial authorities in Cambodia to apprehend the 73 suspects. In particular, the romance scam couple had previously been imprisoned in a Cambodian correctional facility and then released, during which time they underwent two rounds of plastic surgery, including double-eyelid and nose procedures, as part of a meticulous escape plan. In response, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea had them arrested again and, in the process, persuaded the Cambodian government by holding two meetings with a Cambodian minister.
Prosecutor Jeon Sung-hwan of the International Criminal Affairs Division at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea explained, "As the central authority for international cooperation under treaties and domestic law, the Ministry of Justice filed an extradition request with the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia in May last year." He added, "In December last year, we also hosted a workshop on responding to scam crimes in Cambodia together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), thereby persuading the Cambodian government through a variety of channels."
Yoo Seung-ryeol, Director of Investigation Planning and Coordination at the National Office of Investigation under the KNPA, stated, "Going forward, the special TF on transnational crime will continue to respond firmly to transnational offenses that cross borders and harm our citizens." He continued, "It is a grave mistake to think that committing crimes abroad will allow you to escape punishment. For crimes that victimize Koreans, we will pursue and arrest offenders to the very end, at home and abroad, and ensure they are held fully accountable."
kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-gyu Reporter