South Korean President Lee Jae-myung appears to have changed his tone on South Korean-Cambodian cooperation on working toward the elimination of transnational crime.
A social media post on the evening of February 13 differs from his previous tone, where he often used strong language, vowing to “destroy” those who harm South Korean citizens, sometimes in the Khmer language.
In a message posted in both Korean and Khmer, Lee stated that the Cambodia-Korea joint task force — established and launched through an agreement between himself and Prime Minister Hun Manet — has achieved remarkable results. In the two months since its creation, the team has detained more than 130 individuals suspected of being involved in online fraud operations.
“This achievement was made possible by the strong will of the Cambodian government and the strong cooperation between the police officers of the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Cambodia. I would like to thank all relevant parties for their hard work and cooperation in this mission,” he wrote.
He also noted that he received news that the South Korean embassy in Cambodia had prepared Tteok-guk (rice-cake soup) — a traditional Korean New Year dish — for the joint task force.
He explained that it was a gesture of encouragement for the team, which has been working tirelessly to ensure the safety of citizens during the Korean New Year holidays.
“The Korean government is committed to further strengthening close cooperation with Cambodia to move toward the elimination of transnational crime together. I look forward to a safe and peaceful future that will be built from the combined forces of the governments and people of our two countries,” he said.
He concluded by expressing his deep gratitude to Prime Minister Hun Manet for the joint efforts in supressing offenses.
