South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection said on November 5 that, in its review of the foreign ministry’s response to job-scam crimes in Cambodia, the embassy twice asked for a higher travel alert but headquarters did not accept it, so the alert was raised only in September 2025. Meanwhile reports of Koreans being confined, kidnapped or assaulted rose sharply each year.
According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, the ministry recognised in December 2023, from embassy and private-sector data, that job scams and the confinement of Koreans in Cambodia were worsening. In April and July 2024 the embassy proposed raising the alert to Level 2.5, a special travel advisory. Headquarters declined, saying job scams did not meet the criteria and the embassy had not submitted a required form.
광고 문의 · 300×250After media reports in August 2024 the ministry began to seek a higher alert. The board said that from September of that year it should have activated its headquarters for protecting overseas nationals but did not even convene related meetings, because the ministry did not regard the scams as a national crisis or overseas emergency.
Confusion between departments and growing harm
In April 2025 one department proposed raising the alert, but another advised caution about a nationwide increase, and the first read this as opposition and dropped the plan. The alert was finally raised in September 2025, after reports of a university student’s death. The board attributed the delay to negligence and confusion within the ministry.
During this period reported cases of Koreans being confined, kidnapped or assaulted rose from 17 in 2023 to 220 in 2024 and 504 in 2025. The audit also found general delays in adjusting alerts: of 54 adjustments requested by embassies over the past three years, 7 took 15 to 30 days and 9 took more than 30 days.
The board asked the ministry to impose minor disciplinary action on three staff members who failed to act in time. It also told the ministry about the misconduct of the former ambassador to Cambodia, who has retired, for reference in matters such as re-employment. The ministry’s official position was not found in the reports this paper reviewed and could not be confirmed.