Jakarta/Seoul, Nov 28 (LatestNewsX)—Seoul’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), said Friday that the principal suspect in the torture and killing of a South‑Korean university student linked to online scams in Cambodia has been taken into custody.
According to the NIS, a Chinese man named Li Guanghao, together with three other Chinese nationals and five South‑Koreans, was arrested in Phnom Penh on Thursday after the Cambodian police cooperated with the agency.
Li is accused of torturing and murdering 22‑year‑old Park near Bokor Mountain, an area that frequently witnesses employment scams and detentions aimed at South‑Koreans.
The NIS had been following Li since it identified him as the phone caller who demanded money from Park’s family.
He was apprehended after eating with a group of South‑Koreans suspected of money‑laundering, and was charged with a different offence rather than Park’s murder.
Cambodian officials are still investigating Li, and the trial is expected to take place in Cambodia.
The NIS also noted that Li had ties to a 2023 drug case targeting students in Seoul’s Gangnam district, and that he had been subject to an Interpol Red Notice after attempting to smuggle 4 kg of drugs into South Korea in January.
“We will keep pursuing the remaining suspects responsible for Park’s death as one unified team with the police,” the NIS said in a press release.
The Korean Embassy in Cambodia confirmed it had been notified by local authorities and will examine whether Li can be repatriated to South Korea.
Park had left for Southeast Asia on July 17, claiming he was attending an exhibition. He was found dead inside a car on Aug 8, with evidence of torture on his body, according to local police.
Last month, a Cambodian court indicted three Chinese nationals on charges that included murder and fraud.
The case sparked a public outcry in South Korea, prompting the government to send a delegation to Cambodia and set up a joint task force to tackle online scams and other crimes against its citizens.
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