South Korea repatriates 73 online scam suspects from Cambodia — report

SEOUL - South Korea has repatriated for questioning 73 people suspected of involvement in online scam operations in Cambodia, Yonhap News said, a fraud that bilked hundreds of people to the tune of $33 million.

The airplane carrying the suspects, the largest such group returned so far, landed at Incheon International Airport on Friday, video from Yonhap News TV showed.

The return follows a joint investigation by both nations, Kang Yu-jung, a spokesperson of the Korean presidential office, told a briefing on Thursday.

Investigators located seven scam centers at which the suspects are accused of defrauding 869 South Koreans of 49 billion won ($33 million) online, Kang said.

Among them are a couple accused of extorting about 12 billion won from 104 South Koreans using deepfake technology to disguise their identities, she said.

The couple are believed to have undertaken plastic surgery in a bid to avoid being traced by police, she added.

In October, a group of 64 South Koreans were returned home over suspected scams, following the alleged murder of a South Korean college student tortured in Cambodia in August in a case linked to an employment scam.

($1=1,467.3100 won)

-Reporting by Heejin Kim; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez/Reuters