Incidents Involving Koreans in Travel-Advisory Countries Jump Nearly 50%

Accidents and criminal incidents involving South Korean nationals in 10 countries frequently covered by Seoul’s travel advisories increased by nearly half last year, highlighting growing risks for Koreans traveling or living abroad.

The number of reported cases reached 4,016 in 2025, up 48.3 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Foreign Ministry and the National Police Agency and provided to ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Joon-hwan.

The figures cover Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Thailand, China, El Salvador, Mexico, Lebanon, Iran and Laos. These were the 10 countries for which the South Korean government issued travel advisories most frequently over the preceding five years.

Cases in which contact with a South Korean national was lost recorded the sharpest numerical increase, rising from 248 in 2024 to 617 in 2025. Reports of kidnapping and confinement more than doubled, climbing from 246 to 553. Suspected missing-person cases rose nearly fivefold to 188.

China recorded the largest total increase among the countries reviewed. The number of accidents and incidents involving South Koreans there rose to 1,580 from 1,133 a year earlier.

Cambodia also accounted for a substantial portion of the rise. Cases involving Koreans increased by 569 to 917, representing 43.5 percent of the combined year-on-year increase across the 10 countries. The country has drawn particular concern over crimes targeting South Koreans, including online scam operations that use abduction, confinement or coercion.

A dedicated police unit in Cambodia, known as the Korea desk, began operating last November to respond to crimes involving South Korean nationals. Since its launch, joint enforcement efforts have rescued eight South Koreans and apprehended 107 people in crackdowns on scam-related crimes.

The steep increase adds urgency to efforts by the government and police to provide timely travel warnings, strengthen cooperation with foreign law-enforcement agencies and improve emergency support for citizens overseas. It also underlines the need for travelers to review current advisories and local security conditions before departure, particularly in destinations where reports of confinement, disappearance and organized scam activity have risen.

The data measures reported incidents and accidents rather than establishing a single cause for the increase. Still, the concentration of growth in China and Cambodia, along with the sharp rise in lost-contact and kidnapping cases, points to the need for closer monitoring and faster cross-border responses when South Korean nationals are at risk.