Seoul: Sixty-four South Koreans who were repatriated Saturday from Cambodia will face criminal investigations for online scam operations conducted in the Southeast Asian country.

According to Anadolu Agency, citing police officials, the individuals were arrested by accompanying officers upon boarding a flight to Incheon city and will be taken to police stations for questioning after arrival.

This operation marks South Korea's largest single-country criminal repatriation and the third of its kind. The repatriation was prompted by the torture and death of a South Korean college student who was lured to Cambodia by a criminal ring. This tragic incident has sparked public outrage and drawn attention to the increasing number of South Koreans allegedly deceived by fake high-paying job offers, only to be forced into working in online scams.

In response to these developments, Seoul has imposed a travel ban on several Cambodian provinces, which took effect on Thursday. The South Koreans had previously been detained in Cambodia for their alleged involvement in online scam operations. Earlier this week, South Korea sent a response team to Cambodia to address the issue.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na, who headed the task force, stated, "Through this visit, we reaffirmed the Cambodian government's willingness to cooperate and reached an agreement to bolster bilateral cooperation by institutionalizing a joint response task force for such crimes." She emphasized the government's commitment to establishing an effective system to eradicate online scam crimes in Cambodia targeting South Koreans and to actively utilize this system.

Park Sung-joo, the head of the National Office of Investigation and a member of the response team, mentioned that Phnom Penh agreed to "swiftly" notify Seoul of any additional arrests of South Koreans during its crackdown on online scam rings. Additionally, both countries will exchange evidence related to the scams, including mobile phones, to aid in the investigations.