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South Koreans detained in Cambodia for participating in online fraud are escorted by police upon arrival at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 2 on Oct. 18. About 190 police officers were deployed for the repatriation. / Source: Yonhap News

The 64 individuals, who arrived at Incheon International Airport on Oct. 18 under heavy police escort, were part of organized online fraud networks in Cambodia. Authorities said the group consisted of both victims held captive by crime rings and offenders who themselves ran phone scam operations targeting other Koreans.

The Democratic Party defended the mass repatriation as an “essential” measure to break criminal links between Cambodia-based syndicates and domestic accomplices. Party spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said, “If these individuals had not been brought back and investigated, many could have reentered Cambodia and rejoined criminal activities. Their return was critical to prevent additional harm.”

Lim Ho-sun, deputy head of the party’s Overseas Koreans Safety Task Force, added that the repatriation would help uncover the full network behind the schemes and aid in rescuing other Korean victims still trapped in Cambodia.

The PPP, however, blasted the operation as “a frog-like government response”—a Korean idiom implying reversal or contradiction—saying the government focused on optics rather than substance.

PPP spokesman Cho Yong-sul said, “Instead of prioritizing the rescue of Korean victims, the government rushed to bring back suspects, some of whom are on Interpol’s red notice list. This was a performance-driven move focused on claiming success.” He added, “A responsible government should focus all resources on saving lives and protecting citizens, not parading criminal repatriations.”

Amid the political fallout, the Democratic Party also turned its criticism toward the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, accusing it of neglecting citizens’ safety despite large increases in official development assistance (ODA).

“During the Yoon government, ODA expanded to several trillion won, yet what came back were horrific incidents like kidnappings of our citizens abroad,” said Supreme Council member Chun Hyun-hee. “If a state cannot protect its people, it has no reason to exist. This government will ensure victory in the fight to protect lives and safety from transnational crime.”