Cambodia pledges to work with South Korea after death of kidnapped student

Phnom Penh: A senior official at Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday his ministry will cooperate with South Korea over the death of a South Korean student allegedly kidnapped and tortured by a criminal gang in Cambodia.

The body of 22-year-old Park Min-ho was discovered in August in a pickup truck near Bokor Mountain in southern Kampot province. Authorities said he died of a cardiac arrest after being tortured and beaten.

The student had reportedly told his family he was visiting Cambodia for an exhibition in July. Shortly after arriving he was kidnapped by a criminal gang who demanded a USD 35,000 ransom, South Korean media reported.

On Wednesday South Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel ban for parts of Cambodia including Bokor Mountain in Kampot province, as well as the towns of Bavet and Poipet, on Cambodia’s border with Vietnam and Thailand.

The move follows a surge in cases involving South Korean nationals that has caused growing concerns over cross-border crime and weak law enforcement cooperation between Cambodia and South Korea. Seoul has pressed for stronger cooperation to tackle cases of online scams, kidnappings, and violence targeting Korean nationals.

Cambodia’s National Police said that three men, identified as Li Xingpeng, 35, Zhu Renzhe, 43, and Liu Haoxing, 29, have been charged with murder and online fraud. AGENCIES