A senior South Korean police official has laid out how his country tackles online fraud, describing a strategy built on three pillars — prevention, arrest and cooperation — while highlighting joint efforts with Cambodian authorities.

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

Prevention Through Rapid Blocking

Kim said Korea's first line of defence reaches beyond simply raising public awareness. Instead, authorities move quickly to shut down the tools criminals rely on — fraudulent phone numbers, malicious apps and bank accounts — before more damage is done. 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 explained.

He noted that between 500 and 1,000 numbers are blocked daily, adding up to roughly 300,000 over the past ten months.

Targeted Arrests

The second pillar centres on making arrests. By examining phone numbers, bank accounts and social media profiles, investigators can trace cases back to the same criminal groups and bundle them together for concentrated investigation. In 2025, Kim said, 23,991 cases were tied to 262 separate operations.

International Cooperation

The third element, cooperation, underscores the value of partnering with law enforcement worldwide — including Cambodia, where South Korean officers have been working alongside a Special Task Force on Transnational Crime.

According to Kim, since a memorandum of understanding was signed with Cambodia, 173 people involved in online scam networks have been sent back to Korea to face charges.

"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.

Results and Emerging Threats

Kim reported that the three-pillar approach is paying off, with voice phishing cases dropping 43% and related financial losses falling 49% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024.

Still, he cautioned that significant challenges lie ahead, particularly as criminals turn to artificial intelligence.

"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 meet these threats, Kim called for fresh response strategies, expanded joint prevention and operations, faster disruption of the movement of criminal funds and stronger efforts to help victims recover their losses.