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Family prepares for funeral as remains of university student arrive from Cambodia

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 10:31

The remains of 22-year-old Park, who was tortured and killed in Cambodia in August, return to Korea two months later on Oct. 21 at the Incheon International Airport. [NEWS1]

YECHEON, North Gyeongsang — The remains of a 22-year-old Korean university student who died after being tortured in a criminal compound in Cambodia were returned to Korea on Tuesday, 74 days after his body was found. His family is expected to hold a quiet funeral in their hometown in Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang.

The cremated remains of the victim, surnamed Park, arrived at Incheon International Airport aboard Korean Air Flight KE690, which landed at 8:04 a.m. Tuesday. Park had been found dead on Aug. 8 near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province.

Park's remains were returned just one day after a joint autopsy was conducted by investigators from both countries at Tuol Tumpoung Pagoda in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok District. The three-hour autopsy was attended by six officials from each side. After the procedure, the body was cremated, and repatriation was arranged immediately. Park's body had been kept in a storage room at the pagoda since August.

Jang Jin-uk, director of forensic operations at the Korean National Police Agency, emerged from the arrivals hall at 8:44 a.m. holding a white-wrapped urn containing Park’s remains. He was met by Ahn Jung-man, head of the violent crimes unit at the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, who formally received the remains. Both officers wore black suits, white gloves and neckties. Police officers and airport security were also stationed at the airport in case of an emergency.

The remains of 22-year-old Park, who was tortured and killed in Cambodia in August, return to Korea two months later on Oct. 21 at the Incheon International Airport. [NEWS1]

Park’s family did not come to the airport and has avoided all contact with the media. Police did not conduct any interviews out of respect for their wishes. The remains will be delivered to the family in Yecheon, where a quiet funeral will take place at a local funeral home.

"Since the incident, Park’s father quit his job and stopped going out," said a resident in the family’s village in their 70s. "He just stayed home and drank. Everyone who knows the family has felt sorry for them."

Park lured abroad under false pretense

Park left for Cambodia on July 17, telling his family he was attending an expo. He was found dead three weeks later in an area known for a string of confinement and extortion cases involving Korean victims.

The Cambodian death certificate listed the cause of death as cardiac arrest caused by “severe pain due to torture.” While he was being held, the person threatening him contacted his family in Korea, demanding more than 50 million won ($35,000), claiming Park had caused a problem and needed to “settle it.” The suspect reportedly spoke in Korean with a Chinese Korean accent.

Cambodian authorities said on Oct. 10 that three Chinese nationals had been arrested and indicted for murder in connection with Park’s death. Two accomplices remain at large.

Officials leave a temple in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Oct. 20, after the autopsy of a Korean student allegedly tortured to death in the country took place. [YONHAP]

Two detained in Korea for facilitating Park’s departure

Police in North Gyeongsang Province are investigating how Park came to leave Korea. So far, they have arrested two individuals allegedly linked to a scheme that recruited him to open a fraudulent bank account before sending him abroad.

The ringleader of the recruitment ring, a person in their 20s, was arrested and detained on Oct. 16 in Incheon. Another suspect, also in their 20s, was a classmate of Park and is already standing trial after being indicted on similar charges. Both face allegations of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of and Recovery from Damage Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JUNG-SEOK [[email protected]]