Dec 4, 2025 – South Korea lowers its travel advisory for Phnom Penh to Level 2 and downgrades Siem Reap and other regions to Level 1, citing the “intensified crackdown on online scams and coordination with Seoul” that has reduced incidents. The adjustment follows a joint police unit set up earlier in the month to tackle cross‑border fraud. [32]

Dec 7, 2025 – Police identify a Chinese national of Korean ethnicity as the mastermind behind the KT Corp. payment breach that hit 220 Seoul‑area users between August and September, prompting Interpol cooperation. The scheme siphons about 140 million won (≈US$95,300) from victims. [31]

Dec 9, 2025 – A trial opens at the Hongseong branch of the Daejeon District Court for 46 suspects accused of romance scams, prosecutor‑impersonation schemes and cryptocurrency fraud tied to Cambodia and Thailand, alleged to have stolen 9.4 billion won from 110 victims. The hearing marks the first judicial step after a mass repatriation of Korean suspects. [30]

Dec 10, 2025 – Cambodian authorities detain 51 South Korean nationals at a joint raid on a Sihanoukville criminal complex; officers rescue a 20‑year‑old man who had been confined and tortured. The operation involves roughly 100 Cambodian commandos and South Korean police, underscoring the bilateral push against transnational scams. [29]

Dec 21, 2025 – A joint Cambodia‑South Korea raid nets 26 South Korean suspects at a Mondulkiri‑province scam center and rescues a confined victim. The action follows the August death of a Korean college student in a Cambodian scam compound, which had spurred Seoul’s intensified crackdown. [28]

Jan 5, 2026 – A combined task force of Korean police, the National Intelligence Service and Cambodian authorities raids offices and residences in Phnom Penh, arresting 26 members of a sexual‑exploitation ring that extorted 26.7 billion won from 165 South Korean victims and forced women to produce explicit content. The operation reflects the “government’s intensified crackdown” after the student’s death. [24]

Jan 6, 2026 – Cambodian police arrest Chinese billionaire Chen Zhi and two other Chinese nationals, then extradite Chen to China at Beijing’s request, revoking his Cambodian citizenship in December. The United States had charged Chen in October with running cryptocurrency scams that stole billions, and the UK had sanctioned his Prince Group empire. [2]

Jan 8, 2026 – Chinese authorities announce that Chen Zhi is now in custody, showing officers removing a black cloth from his head and chaining his hands, calling his capture a “major achievement” in cooperation with Cambodia. [7]

Jan 8, 2026 – South Korean officials arrest a 42‑year‑old Chinese suspect, surnamed Ham, in Pattaya, Thailand, linking him to the scam ring that tortured a Korean student to death in August 2025. The joint operation with Thai police aims to extradite him to South Korea for prosecution. [27]

Jan 9, 2026 – Analysts note that Cambodia’s extradition of Chen Zhi marks a “rare, coordinated effort” to disrupt a transnational criminal enterprise that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims worldwide, but raids on other scam compounds in Myanmar and Thailand show the networks quickly relocate. [6]

Jan 12, 2026 – South Korean and Cambodian police jointly detain 26 suspects in Phnom Penh for running a sexual‑exploitation scam that impersonated prosecutors and financial officials, extorting 26.7 billion won and forcing women to record explicit material. Officials pledge to block the videos and repatriate the suspects to South Korea. [24]

Jan 19, 2026 – Seoul’s Seodaemun Police bust a Thailand‑based voice‑phishing ring, arresting seven members who swindled about 7 billion won from 38 victims by posing as Financial Supervisory Service officials and directing withdrawals. The crackdown follows intelligence gathered in August and highlights the cross‑border nature of Korean‑targeted fraud. [23]

Jan 20, 2026 – Cambodian police arrest 50‑year‑old Kuong Li and remand him on charges of illegal recruitment, aggravated fraud, organised crime and money‑laundering linked to offenses since 2019. Li, identified by a BBC Eye documentary as the owner of the Huang Le compound, had been granted the royal honorific “Neak Oknha” in June 2023, a title the government later stripped after the scandal. [1]

Jan 22, 2026 – President Lee Jae Myung orders “stern measures” against transnational crimes targeting South Korean nationals, calling such offenses “malicious” and urging close cooperation with foreign partners to seize overseas proceeds. He announces the forced repatriation of 73 Koreans detained in Cambodia, who are accused of swindling 48.6 billion won from 869 victims. [19]

Jan 23, 2026 – A chartered Korean Air flight lands at Incheon with 73 South Korean nationals returned from Cambodia, the largest single‑country repatriation of criminal suspects. The detainees face investigations for online romance, investment and “no‑show” scams that cost victims 48.6 billion won, and authorities plan to extend their detention. [13]

Jan 24, 2026 – South Korean police file arrest‑warrant requests for all 73 repatriated suspects, citing online fraud charges—including deep‑fake romance scams that stole 12 billion won from 104 victims—and three separate robbery‑by‑hostage and gambling accusations. The warrants set the stage for hearings later in the week. [12]

Jan 25, 2026 – Prosecutors submit formal requests for arrest warrants covering 72 of the 73 returned Koreans, deeming the excluded individual’s alleged offenses “too minor.” The move underscores the authorities’ focus on high‑value fraud cases as the suspects await court hearings. [11]

Jan 26, 2026 – Police announce that arrest warrants have been issued for 55 of the 73 repatriated suspects, who collectively defrauded 869 South Koreans of 48.6 billion won. The arrests follow coordinated efforts by the Korean National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation. [10]

Jan 26, 2026 – Dex, a South Korean who escaped a Phnom Penh scam compound in April 2024, testifies to investigators, providing worksheets, screenshots and chat logs that link over 12 billion won (≈US$8.1 million) of complaints to the compound’s operators. His account confirms that workers faced passport confiscation, daily contact quotas of 100 strangers and “gong” payouts of roughly $6,900 per successful transfer. [3]