🇰🇷🇨🇳🇰🇭 Misplaced Blame and Missed Accountability: Southeast Asia Is Not a Monolith

Recent headlines have spotlighted the tragic death of a South Korean student in Cambodia, allegedly tortured in a scam compound near Bokor Mountain. The incident, alongside the repatriation of dozens of South Koreans detained or exploited in Cambodian scam centres, has understandably triggered alarm in Seoul. President Lee Jae Myung has called for a tougher crackdown on transnational scams targeting Korean nationals, and South Korea has even sought UN cooperation to address the growing threat of human trafficking linked to online fraud.

But the narrative now circulating—that Southeast Asia is broadly unsafe for South Koreans—is dangerously reductive.

🔍 Southeast Asia ≠ Cambodia Alone

Southeast Asia comprises eleven nations, each with distinct governance, security frameworks, and bilateral ties with Korea. To conflate the entire region with Cambodia’s criminal underbelly is to ignore the diversity and complexity of ASEAN. Many South Koreans in the region are not tourists but workers, students, and entrepreneurs seeking opportunity—not leisure.

🧭 The China Factor: Transnational Crime Needs Transnational Accountability

What’s missing from the conversation is the role of Chinese criminal syndicates operating across Southeast Asia. Scam compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos have repeatedly been linked to Chinese nationals and networks. Beijing must take proactive responsibility—not just reactive diplomacy—before tragedies escalate further.

Let us not forget the 2011 Mekong River massacre, where 13 Chinese sailors were murdered by drug traffickers operating in Myanmar. That incident, underpinned by Chinese cartel influence, prompted a rare military response from China. But why wait for another bloodbath?

🛡️ Call to Action

China should lead regional efforts to dismantle scam networks seeded by its own citizens. South Korea must continue to differentiate between rogue zones and legitimate partners in Southeast Asia. And media outlets must resist the temptation to paint the region with a single, fearful brush.

Southeast Asia deserves nuanced engagement—not blanket avoidance.