Kim Byung-joo, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his position on the controversy over three young Koreans he rescued from Cambodia, who were later identified as suspects in a “romance scam” crime. He stated, “Those young people might be both victims and perpetrators.”
Previously, some Cambodians of Korean descent argued, “The rescued youths are closer to suspects than victims,” questioning the use of the term “rescue.” In response, on the 20th, Kim acknowledged on MBC Radio’s “Kim Jong-bae’s Attention” that “all of them were involved in the initial stages of romance scam fraud.” However, he also noted, “There are elements of coercion, and some of our citizens might have been defrauded,” emphasizing that they could be both victims and perpetrators.
When the host mentioned the controversy, Kim explained, “Jeong-mo, one of these young men, is the son of a resident from my constituency in Namyangju, whose parents asked me through a city council member to ‘please rescue our son.'” He added, “The role of the state is to first protect the lives of its citizens, so we need to rescue them, bring them back to Korea, and then have them go through legal procedures. Once the punishment is over, they should be helped to return to a normal life.” He justified the rescue by stating that leaving them in a dangerous place would jeopardize their lives.
Kim noted, “Some people caught by the Cambodian police refuse to return to Korea and don’t wish to speak to their parents.” He added, “Fortunately, all three I rescued wanted to return to Korea and were newcomers who had only been there for about two months.”
According to him, the three rescued individuals are expected to return to Korea after local police investigations. Kim also mentioned, “I thought they needed a guardian, so I requested a guardian from a Korean businessman. On the 18th, that person visited them and provided them with drinks, snacks, and chicken.”
On the 18th, Kim shared on Facebook that he had “finally brought back Jung-mo from Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, who was detained in Cambodia, along with two other young Koreans,” publicly announcing the rescue. Alongside this post, he posted photos of the rescued individuals, including a young man with tattooed arms.
Subsequently, a Korean resident who described themselves as a businessman criticized on Facebook, “Presenting them as ‘rescued youths’ could create a narrative as if innocent victims were rescued,” noting that the depiction of the tattooed individual as a “rescued youth” shocked the local Korean community.
In a Facebook post on the 19th, Kim asserted, “What drove the youths to Cambodia is the youth employment issue in our country, which cannot be solved solely by effort.” He defended them by stating, “They are both perpetrators and victims.”
During the Democratic Party’s senior party members’ meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th, Kim, with tears, stated, “The first duty of a politician is to protect the lives of the citizens. That’s all I did. I hope there will be no distortion.”