Korean college student found dead in Cambodia after alleged torture, was allegedly tricked by 'money mule' recruiters

The South Korean police have arrested alleged "money mule" recruiters for their suspected involvement in the death of a Korean university student in Cambodia in August 2025.

According to Yonhap News Agency, officers from the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police said that several members of a recruiting ring running a mule account had allegedly tricked the student into traveling to Cambodia.

Mule accounts are bank accounts used to transfer money for criminal purposes, and those who provide them are referred to as money mules.

The student was found dead in Kampot, Cambodia, on Aug. 8, and Cambodian police said his cause of death was cardiac arrest from torture and extreme pain, reported The Korea Herald.

Died from cardiac arrest after alleged torture

The recruiters had allegedly lured the student, who was from Yecheon and whose gender is as of yet unknown, by saying that they could make "a lot of money" if they went to Cambodia, reported Chosun.

The student then left South Korea on Jul. 17 and told their family that they would be attending an expo event in Kampot, a city in southern Cambodia.

A week later, a person speaking Korean with a Korean-Chinese accent had contacted the student's family and demanded 50 million won (S$45,400), claiming that they had "caused trouble".

The family then reported the incident to local police and South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

South Korean media also reported that the student's body was later discovered near Bokor Mountain, where employment scams and detentions targeting South Koreans have occurred.

Cambodian police confirmed that the student died from cardiac arrest due to severe torture and pain.

South Korean authorities later nabbed those allegedly involved. According to Yonhap, the recruiters were arrested for opening bank accounts under borrowed names.

While the police did not disclose how many people were arrested, they said that they are South Korean nationals.

South Korean government pushing for autopsy and "swift" repatriation

The student's body has not yet been returned to South Korea due to limited cooperation from the Cambodian authorities.

Yonhap reported that the South Korean government has been working on repatriating their remains.

The body has thus far remained in Cambodia without undergoing an autopsy, which sparked a public outcry in South Korea.

The country's foreign ministry is seeking an autopsy and repatriation of the student's body, having urged Cambodian authorities to quickly investigate their death.

It also noted a recent rise in South Korean victims of employment scams and detentions in Cambodia, as more are being lured to work at online scam centres.

Top photos via Canva & អគ្គស្នងការដ្ឋាននគរបាលជាតិ- General Commissariat of National Police/Facebook