Audit Board Criticizes Foreign Ministry's 'Complacent Response' to Cambodia Crimes

In August last year, a South Korean college student surnamed Park was found dead in the cargo bed of a truck near a criminal compound on Mount Bokor in Kampot Province, southern Cambodia.

"[Drink, quickly, gulp it down before I catch and ○○○ you! Harder, harder!]"

Park left for Cambodia after telling his family, "I will visit an expo," but was subsequently abducted into a criminal compound, brutally tortured, and ultimately died.

Around the same time, reports of employment scams and unlawful detentions continued to mount in Cambodia.

Prompted by this, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) conducted an audit into the handling of overseas citizen protection by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters and 19 overseas diplomatic missions, including the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia.

The BAI stated that, according to the audit results, the response of the Foreign Ministry headquarters and the Embassy in Cambodia was deemed complacent, despite serious threats having emerged to the safety of South Korean citizens.

The audit agency pointed out that the Foreign Ministry raised the travel advisory level only in September 2025—two years after local employment scam damages began to occur—missing the opportunity to prevent harm in advance by failing to raise the travel advisory in a timely manner.

According to the BAI, this resulted from the ministry either regarding the employment scam crimes as minor matters that had already been concluded, or misjudging the criteria for issuing travel advisories.

The BAI also stated that although 161 abduction cases occurred over the 10 months following December 2024, the ministry failed to even hold meetings in a timely manner to activate a headquarters for the protection of overseas citizens.

At the time, the director-general and division directors in charge at the Foreign Ministry reportedly judged that employment scams did not constitute a national crisis or an overseas disaster.

The BAI notified Foreign Minister Cho Hyun of 13 administrative measures, including requesting disciplinary action against three Foreign Ministry officials who were handling the related duties at the time, and utilizing personnel records regarding one retired official.

Reported by Kim Ayeong | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.