Cambodia, located in the southwestern part of the Indochina Peninsula, was once popular with Korean travelers due to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. However, as pro-Chinese forces within Cambodia grow, Chinese and Chinese companies are increasingly expanding their presence in Cambodia. Furthermore, former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol significantly expanded unnecessary aid to Cambodia, wasting taxpayer money unnecessarily. Furthermore, with the recent rise in kidnappings and murders targeting Koreans, Cambodia has become a country disliked by Koreans.
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Impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol changed the people's tax money into another name and provided support to the Cambodian government. During his term, the Korean government significantly increased the limit on official development assistance (ODA) loans to Cambodia from the existing $700 million to $3 billion by 2030 on two occasions.
This is because of a request from the head of the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) headquarters, who provided money and valuables under the guise of a gift to Kim Keon-hee, Yoon Suk-yeol's wife. The Unification Church was seeking to further expand its influence by purchasing key land along the Mekong River. The Unification Church also has close ties to President Donald J.T and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated by a citizen who harbored a grudge against the church.
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| Kim keon hee November 12, 2022 |
The controversy arose on November 12, 2022, when, during President Yoon Suk-yeol's Southeast Asian tour, First Lady Kim Keon-hee, instead of participating in the spouses' program, visited a Cambodian hospital and a child at home. She was likely imitating a photo of Audrey Hepburn taken at the Baidoa UNICEF feeding center during a 1992 relief effort in Somalia.
In October 2025, South Korea is embroiled in controversy over crimes against Koreans in Cambodia. The torture death of a Korean national who had traveled to Cambodia has sparked criticism that the South Korean government failed to prevent the situation.
Critics have pointed out that the ambassador to Cambodia appointed during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration focused solely on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The Cambodian ODA issue is currently under investigation by prosecutors amid allegations that former President Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, former CEO of Cobana Contents, was involved in business requests.
The number of reported kidnappings of Koreans in Cambodia was 1 in 2022, 17 in 2023, 220 in 2024, and 340 this year as of August 2025.
Ambassador Park Jung-wook, who assumed his post in January 2023, served as Ambassador to Cambodia for two years and six months until July 17, 2025. During this period, crimes against Koreans in Cambodia increased sharply, and it is unlikely he will be able to avoid responsibility.
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| Three Chinese nationals have been indicted on charges of murder and other offenses in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a Korean college student in his 20s in Cambodia. |
Most of the suspects who commit crimes against Koreans in Cambodia are Chinese. It is presumed that most of the crimes are committed in casino cities such as Prince Estates, Sihanoukville, and Bavet, which were built with Chinese capital by Prince Holding Group, a Chinese company with close ties to former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. As business declined due to COVID-19, they have expanded and kidnapped Koreans through job scams, forced them into voice phishing work, and tortured and killed them if they resist.
As such, corruption among Cambodian politicians and police is so rampant that rooting out criminals and their criminal networks, even with the Cambodian government's assistance, appears unlikely.
As kidnappings by Cambodian criminal networks continue to surface, the Korean police are discussing with Cambodian authorities the establishment of a Korean desk dedicated to crimes against Koreans, with Korean officers dispatched locally. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has raised the travel advisory for all of Cambodia to 'Caution', for Phnom Penh to 'Refrain', and for some provinces bordering Laos and Thailand to 'Special Travel caution'.
