Foreign Ministry lowers travel alerts for Cambodian tourist spots as scam crimes decrease

The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs lowered the travel alert level for several popular tourist spots in Cambodia on Thursday, following a decline in reported crimes targeting Koreans.

Cambodian police officers leave Tuek Thla Pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Oct. 20, after completing an autopsy and cremation of the body of a Korean university student surnamed Park who was tortured to death while being held captive in Cambodia. [NEWS1]

The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs lowered the travel alert level for several popular tourist spots in Cambodia on Thursday, following a decline in reported crimes targeting Koreans.

The ministry said the change reflected improved safety conditions in key areas. Notably, the province of Siem Reap — where Angkor Wat is located — was downgraded from level 2, or “refrain from travel,” to level 1, or “exercise caution.”

Meanwhile, the capital Phnom Penh, previously under a level 2.5 special advisory, was reclassified as level 2.

However, not all regions were relaxed. Areas under the highest alert level 4, or “travel banned,” such as the Bokor Mountain area in Kampot Province and the cities of Bavet and Poipet, remain off-limits for Korean travelers.

Likewise, the province of Sihanoukville, which is already under a level 3 “recommendation to leave” advisory, will retain that status. Other provinces currently subject to a special travel advisory will remain so. All other regions not covered by level 2–4 or special advisories will default to a level 1 alert.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the decision reflects a “substantial reduction” in scam-related crime reports targeting Koreans inside Cambodia — particularly in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Officials attributed the trend to strengthened cooperation between South Korean and Cambodian authorities, including the activation of a dedicated task force to handle criminal cases involving Korean nationals.

Suspects of voice phishing scams, extradited from Cambodia in October, are transferred to the Hongseong branch of the Daejeon District Court in South Chungcheong on Oct. 20. [NEWS1]

The task force, originally comprising seven Korean police officers working alongside a dozen local officers, has recently been expanded. The number of law enforcement consuls at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia has recently increased from three to five, which administrative staff handling incidents and accidents is due to double from two to four.

Further, former Korean police chief Kim Chang-ryong was appointed ambassador to Cambodia last week, filling a post that had remained vacant for some time.

The ministry issued travel advisories against travel to the Southeast Asian country in October, two months after a 22-year-old Korean university student who traveled there was discovered dead in the back of an abandoned pickup truck in the Bokor Mountain area.

His death shed light on a web of criminal networks in Cambodia that have ensnared over 300 Korean nationals this year alone.

Such organizations operate so-called scam centers using migrants and foreign nationals to perpetrate online fraud, often under coercive conditions.

Such workers are frequently lured by promises of high-paying jobs, only to find themselves confined, forced to work in romance scams or phishing operations, and sometimes subjected to torture or worse.

While the ministry said the risk of entrapment has decreased in certain tourist areas, it cautioned that dangers remain significant in regions still under high alert. The ministry emphasized that individuals who receive high-income employment offers remain highly vulnerable to falling prey to criminal networks.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]