Incidents involving S. Koreans in 10 nations under travel advisory rise 50 pct: data

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- The number of accidents and incidents involving South Korean nationals in 10 major countries under Seoul's travel advisory rose nearly 50 percent in 2025 from the previous year, data showed Sunday. In the 10 countries for which Seoul issued travel advisories the most over the past five years, the cases of accidents and incidents involving South Korean nationals came to 4,016 in 2025, up 48.3 percent from 2024, according to the data from the foreign ministry and the National Police Agency to Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party. The countries are Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Thailand, China, El Salvador, Mexico, Lebanon, Iran and Laos. Cases of losing contact saw the sharpest rise, increasing to 617 in 2025 from the previous year's 248, the data showed. Kidnapping and confinement more than doubled to 553 last year from 246 in 2024. Cases of suspected missing jumped nearly five times to 188 in 2025. By country, accidents and incidents involving Koreans increased the most in China, with such cases rising to 1,580 from the previous year's 1,133. In Cambodia, such cases rose 569 to 917 last year, accounting for 43.5 percent of the total on-year increase among the 10 countries, the latest findings showed. A police unit in Cambodia exclusively dedicated to crimes involving South Koreans, known as the Korea desk, was launched last November in a bid to cope with rising crimes targeting Koreans, such as online scams. Eight South Koreans have since been rescued and 107 nabbed in a joint crackdown on scam crimes in Cambodia. This file photo, provided by the National Police Agency on Jan. 8, 2026, shows the apprehension in Thailand of a Chinese national, surnamed Ham, who is a key suspect in the torture and killing of a South Korean college student in Cambodia. He was detained in a raid at his hideout in Pattaya in a joint operation involving South Korea's justice ministry, National Police Agency, National Intelligence Service and the Thai authorities. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) sooyeon@yna.co.kr(END) Articles with issue keywords