Recently, as incidents of confinement, assault, and torture targeting Koreans have been occurring in Cambodia, the mysterious deaths of broadcaster Seo Se-won and BJ Ayung in Cambodia in 2023 are being reexamined.
The late Byun Ah-young, who was active as BJ Ayung, entered Cambodia on June 2, 2023, with an acquaintance, A. She was found dead four days later on the 6th at a construction site in Phnom Penh. Her body was reportedly discovered wrapped in a red cloth and discarded in a puddle.
At the time, local police arrested a Chinese couple who operated a hospital based on fingerprints found on the cloth. They stated to the police that Byun had suddenly suffered a seizure and died at the hospital, and they moved her body by car to dispose of it.
During the investigation, the possibility of sexual assault and torture murder was raised, but local police stated, “No external trauma such as torture could be confirmed on the body.” The suspects reportedly denied the allegations of sexual assault.
Subsequently, the Cambodian prosecution charged the Chinese couple with the murder of Byun, but the exact cause of death and criminal charges remain unclear.
Meanwhile, the late Seo Se-won died of cardiac arrest while receiving an IV at a hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 20 of the same year.
As various suspicions arose regarding his sudden death, there were considerations to transfer the body to Korea for an autopsy, but due to local circumstances, cremation was decided.
The family stated in a press release, “As time passed, we judged that it would be difficult to preserve the body completely, and with a heavy heart, we proceeded with the local cremation,” adding, “We received a death certificate from the local police stating that the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to diabetes, but we could not easily accept this reason.”
Meanwhile, as our government has seen a rapid increase in employment fraud and confinement victims, a travel warning level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ was issued for the Bokosang area, Bavet City, and Poipet City in Cambodia starting from midnight on the 16th, and the travel warnings for other regions were also raised.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
