Foreign minister promises swift downgrade of travel alerts for areas deemed safe
The Korean Association in Cambodia has called on South Korea’s Foreign Ministry to loosen its travel advisories, saying the tightened alerts are choking local livelihoods and causing "economic damage" to the Korean community.
The association on Thursday delivered an official letter to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul making the request, backed by signatures from 844 Korean residents, the group's head Chung Myung-gyu told The Korea Herald on Friday.
The South Korean government raised the travel advisory level for Cambodia twice in October as part of a whole-of-government response to a surge in South Koreans being lured by fraudulent high-paying job offers and subjected to violent crimes, including kidnappings and forced confinement in criminal compounds.
In the letter, the association said the travel advisory “has been excessively maintained, and the livelihoods and businesses of Korean residents, as well as the operations of educational institutions, are being seriously affected.”
"The community of Korean residents has been in a state of severe contraction and economic damage," the letter read.
Tourism, trade, education and employment across the board have come to a halt, with hundreds of travel, study-abroad and business cancellations, according to the Korean Association.
“For the protection of the rights of Korean residents to make a living and the recovery of our workplaces, a swift review and gradual adjustment of the travel advisory is needed,” it read.
Following the latest adjustment, all of Cambodia is now under a travel alert, including a special travel advisory for nine provinces such as the capital, Phnom Penh; travel bans for Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province and the cities of Bavet and Poipet; a “recommendation to leave” for Sihanoukville; and a “refrain from travel” advisory for all remaining areas.
The association pointed out that, in reality, Cambodia is maintaining stable public security and normal economic activity on the ground. It added that authorities in South Korea and Cambodia have also strengthened coordination mechanisms to counter transnational crimes originating in Cambodia that have harmed Koreans.
South Korea and Cambodia have launched a "Korea-Cambodia Joint Task Force for Koreans" on Nov. 10 to eradicate online scams and associated crimes targeting Korean nationals in Cambodia.
The need to ease travel advisories for Cambodia has drawn attention at the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee session.
During the session, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that the government would "move swiftly to downgrade travel advisories for the capital and other areas assessed as safe."
Rep. Hong Kee-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that “from December through February is when Cambodia has its best weather, and it is the most important season for our Korean community."
"Many people say they make their entire year’s earnings in these three months. That’s why I believe the travel advisory really needs to be adjusted as quickly as possible," Hong told Cho during the session.
Rep. Yoon Hu-duk of the Democratic Party said the travel ban, which carries a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won, “places extremely heavy restrictions on people’s travel.”
"For people running businesses, it’s practically a death sentence. In the effort to catch criminals, the livelihoods of Koreans living and working there have been wiped out," Yoon added.
Echoing that sentiment, Rep. Kim Gunn of the main opposition People Power Party said, "The issue of adjusting the travel-ban zones is directly tied to the livelihoods of our nationals abroad."
"I urge the government to actively consider a reasonable recalibration of these restrictions. I believe this is a view shared across party lines.”
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
