Cambodia: Three More South Korean Bodies Found at Temple That Cremated Murdered Student
The Tuek Thla Temple in Phnom Penh, Cambodia — where the body of a murdered South Korean student was recently cremated — is reportedly storing three additional bodies of South Korean nationals.
According to Yonhap News Agency on October 21, temple staff confirmed that the three bodies are being kept in the temple’s cold storage room.
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This number does not include the body of another South Korean man, around 50 years old, who was found dead in a Sihanoukville hotel on October 20, the South Korean Foreign Ministry stated.
“Although we cremated the body of a South Korean student yesterday, there are still three more South Korean bodies being stored in the cold room, and this has been recorded in our internal report,” a cremation staff member told Yonhap.
The storage facility at Tuek Thla can hold up to 100 bodies and is currently near full capacity. According to the internal report, all three South Koreans were men, with “heart attack” listed as the cause of death.
However, members of the South Korean community in Cambodia suspect the causes may have been falsified. Bribing doctors to change death causes to “heart attack” is reportedly common practice in the country.
Another temple worker confirmed that “yes, there are three more Korean bodies here,” but could not recall exactly when they arrived.
Tuek Thla Temple is one of the few facilities in Phnom Penh that provides cremation services, making it the primary site for handling the remains of foreign nationals who die in Cambodia. Local Cambodians usually opt for home cremation services.
The body of Mr. Park, a 22-year-old South Korean student who was murdered near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province in August, had also been kept at this temple for more than two months before being cremated on October 20.
Park reportedly left South Korea on July 17, claiming to attend a trade exhibition, but was later kidnapped and tortured in a scam compound. His body was discovered less than a month later inside a car.
Temple staff said they perform between two to four cremations per day and that, in the past two weeks, they had cremated two Chinese nationals who were killed and one Filipino citizen.
“When an ambulance brings in the body of a foreigner, we check their nationality and identity,” one staff member said. “But cremation is only allowed when relatives or the embassy contact us.”
So far, there is no evidence linking the three South Korean bodies currently stored at the temple to any criminal cases, according to the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia.
“We cannot disclose the exact number of Korean bodies being kept at the temple, but based on initial verification, there are no indications that any of the cases are related to criminal activity,” the embassy representative stated.
