On Oct. 20, the remains of a Korean student abducted and killed in Cambodia were cremated at Tuktla Temple in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, after forensic teams from both countries concluded their examination. (Yonhap) A South Korean university student found dead in Cambodia in the summer was killed by blunt force trauma following beatings and torture, according to an autopsy report released by Korean authorities over the weekend.
The final forensic report from South Korea’s National Forensic Service, shared Sunday by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, concluded that the 22-year-old victim died from traumatic shock, with visible injuries consistent with prolonged physical assault.
No drugs were found in his system, countering previous suspicions that narcotics had played a role.
The victim, surnamed Park, was found dead in a car near Bokor Mountain in Cambodia’s Kampot province on Aug. 8, nearly three weeks after leaving South Korea for what he told family was a short trip for an expo. Cambodian police who recovered the body noted signs of torture at the time, including bruising and wounds across the body.
On Oct. 20, a joint team of Korean and Cambodian officials carried out an autopsy at a Phnom Penh mortuary. The NFS reported no evidence of stabbing, organ removal or mutilation, contradicting rumors circulating in South Korean media about possible organ trafficking. Forensic specialists later completed toxicology and tissue tests in Korea before confirming the final cause of death.
Although no narcotics were detected, the report included a caveat. If Park had been administered a small amount, or if significant time had passed since ingestion, traces could have disappeared by the time of testing. This clarification followed the emergence of a video showing Park appearing to be forcibly drugged, which fueled speculation.
Three Chinese nationals have been indicted in Cambodia for their alleged role in Park’s death. They were arrested on Oct. 10, but two prime suspects, including a Chinese Korean national surnamed Li, remain at large. Korean investigators say efforts to locate and arrest the remaining suspects are ongoing.
Park’s case has become a flash point in South Korea’s reckoning with a growing human trafficking crisis in Southeast Asia. According to South Korean police, 330 overseas kidnapping cases were reported in the first eight months of 2025, up from 220 cases in all of 2024. Many of these are tied to criminal networks running scam operations in loosely governed economic zones in Cambodia and neighboring countries.
mjh@heraldcorp.com