South Korea Details Anti-Scam Strategy as 173 Suspects Are Sent Home

A high-ranking South Korean police official has laid out how his country tackles online fraud, describing an approach built on three core pillars: prevention, arrests and international cooperation. He also shared the results of joint efforts with Cambodian authorities.

Senior Superintendent Kim Hyun Soo, who heads the Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Korean National Police Agency, presented Seoul's methods for fighting transnational crime during the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS) on September 24.

Prevention Through Rapid Blocking

Kim explained that South Korea's first line of defence extends well beyond raising public awareness. Authorities move quickly to shut down the tools criminals rely on—such as fraudulent phone numbers, harmful apps and bank accounts—before they can do more damage. A key part of this is an emergency system for blocking phone numbers.

"When a suspicious phone number is reported, the information is sent to the National Counter Scam Bureau for analysis. Working together with several telecommunication companies, the numbers confirmed to be used for crime are blocked within about 10 minutes," he said.

He noted that between 500 and 1,000 phone numbers are shut down each day, adding up to roughly 300,000 over the past ten months.

Linking Cases for Arrests

The second pillar centres on making arrests. By examining phone numbers, bank accounts and social media profiles, investigators can connect separate cases to the same criminal group and bundle them together for a more focused investigation. According to Kim, in 2025 a total of 23,991 cases were tied to 262 distinct operations.

International Cooperation

The third pillar underscores the value of working with law enforcement partners across the globe, Cambodia among them. South Korean officers have been collaborating with a Special Task Force on Transnational Crime there.

Kim said that since a cooperation memorandum of understanding was signed with Cambodia, 173 people involved in online scam networks have been returned to South Korea to face prosecution.

"These were Korea's largest repatriation operations of their kind. I would like to take this opportunity to once again express our sincere appreciation to the government of Cambodia and the Cambodian National Police," he said.

Measurable Results and New Threats

Kim reported that the three-pillar approach has paid off, citing a 43% drop in voice phishing cases and a 49% fall in financial losses during the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024.

Even so, he cautioned that significant obstacles remain, particularly as artificial intelligence becomes more widespread.

"First, fraud enablers are becoming more sophisticated with AI such as AI-generated voices, videos and malicious applications. Second, crime is becoming increasingly borderless with criminal organisations operating and relocating across multiple countries," he said.

"Third, with the development of virtual assets the criminal proceeds are moving more freely and when the proceeds cross the border tracing becomes difficult," he added.

To counter these threats, Kim called for fresh response strategies, expanded joint prevention and enforcement efforts, faster disruption of the movement of illicit funds, and stronger support for helping victims recover their losses.