Three Chinese charged in murder of Korean student

Cambodian prosecutors have indicted three Chinese men on murder charges in the kidnapping and killing of a South Korean college student.

The state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse reported Thursday that the Kampot Provincial Prosecutor’s Office charged Li Xinfeng, 32; Zhu Lunzhe, 43; and Liu Haoxing, 29, with murder and fraud. The men are accused of killing a 22-year-old South Korean student surnamed Park near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August. The Bokor area has recently seen a rise in job scams and cases of confinement targeting Koreans.

Local reports said Park was found dead around 2 a.m. on Aug. 8 inside a Ford F-150 Raptor parked on a roadside near Sangkat Kampong Bay in Kampot City. Police arrested Li and Zhu at the scene, identifying them as the driver and a passenger of the vehicle where Park’s body was found. After searching nearby villas, police arrested Liu, who authorities say also took part in the crime. The Cambodian Interior Ministry said investigations are ongoing to identify other accomplices.

In South Korea, a man in his 20s who lured Park to Cambodia has been arrested on charges of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. Investigators say he used social media to recruit Park with an offer of a “high-paying part-time job.” Officials said the suspect acted as a freelance recruiter, taking money for individual assignments rather than working as a formal member of the crime syndicate. Police said the Cambodia-based syndicate used subcontracted brokers in multiple countries to recruit victims. A police official added that authorities will investigate the network and all those involved.

President Lee Jae-myung on Friday ordered the Foreign Ministry to make every effort to protect South Korean citizens abroad. The ministry is negotiating with Cambodian authorities to conduct an autopsy and repatriate Park’s body within the month. Seoul has also requested that Cambodia speed up the investigation and simplify procedural steps.


Young-Hun Jang jang@donga.com