25.10.09.Today News : Korean Student Tortured to Death in Cambodia After Two Weeks

Korean Student Tortured to Death in Cambodia After Two Weeks — Another Kidnapping Case Reported

📍College student from Yecheon found dead after being held by a criminal group; body still not returned to Korea

A 22-year-old Korean university student who traveled to Cambodia for a summer expo was found dead just two weeks later. Cambodian police confirmed that he died from cardiac arrest caused by “torture and extreme pain.” His family, still unable to bring his body home, is demanding justice.

The number of Korean victims in Cambodia is steadily increasing.

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🔹 “I’ll visit an expo in Cambodia,” said before he vanished
According to police and the victim’s family, the student, identified as A (22) from Yecheon, left home in mid-July saying he would attend an exhibition in Cambodia during his summer break. He arrived in Phnom Penh on July 17, but contact with his family was lost about a week later. Initially assuming it was a network issue, his family later received a shocking phone call.

🔹 A ransom call: “Send 50 million won, or he stays locked up”
A man speaking in a Chinese Korean (Joseonjok) accent called A’s family using the victim’s phone. He claimed that A had “caused trouble” and was being detained, demanding 50 million won (approx. $36,000) for his release. The family immediately contacted the Korean Embassy and local police, but investigators failed to locate the caller. Four days later, communication stopped altogether.

🔹 Found dead near Bokor Mountain
Two weeks later, on August 8, A was found dead near the Bokor Mountain area in Kampot Province — known as a hotspot for organized crime. Cambodian police confirmed visible signs of torture and ruled the cause of death as cardiac arrest from extreme pain. The Bokor area has long been associated with kidnapping, forced labor, and human trafficking involving foreign nationals.

🔹 Family’s grief: “He can’t even return home after death”
Despite confirmation of his death, A’s body remains in a Cambodian morgue two months later due to delays in autopsy and repatriation procedures. A’s family said, “We can’t imagine the pain he went through. He’s dead but still can’t come home — it feels like he’s being killed twice.” They have urged the Korean government to expedite the repatriation and strengthen safety measures for Koreans abroad.

🔹 Surge in crimes against Koreans in Cambodia
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports of Korean nationals being kidnapped or detained in Cambodia surged from just 17 in 2023 to over 330 as of August 2025. The government has since raised the travel alert for several Cambodian regions: Phnom Penh is now at Level 2 (“Avoid Travel”), and Sihanoukville, Bokor, and Bavet have been issued a Level 2.5 “Special Travel Advisory.” The ministry advised, “Korean citizens are strongly urged to cancel or postpone travel to these regions and relocate to safer areas if already staying there.”

One-line summary : A Korean college student was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in Cambodia, and his body has remained unrepatriated for two months.