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The police have arrested the person responsible for sending a university student surnamed Park to Cambodia on the pretense of giving him a job, only for the 22-year-old to be found dead three weeks later.
The Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency's criminal investigation unit said Sunday that the suspect was taken into custody on charges including violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunication-Based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss.
The suspect is accused of arranging for Park to travel to Cambodia after coercing him into opening a bank account under his name. The connection was made through another suspect, Hong, who has already been indicted and detained. Hong reportedly introduced Park to the suspect as part of a domestic “mule” recruitment scheme that funneled Korean nationals into overseas scam operations.
A pretrial detention hearing was held at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Andong branch of the Daegu District Court. The judge authorized the warrant, citing flight risk.
Police began tracking the suspect after arresting Hong in September and analyzing bank account records and phone logs. The suspect was apprehended in Incheon on Thursday.
Park departed for Cambodia on July 17 under instructions from Hong's organization. The student was found dead three weeks later, on Aug. 8, inside a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province. An autopsy is scheduled to be conducted on Monday at 9 a.m.
Police said they are continuing the investigation to determine whether additional individuals were involved and plan to refer the suspect's case to prosecutors soon.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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