This content was first published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
People in South Korea may go to Phnom Penh to apply in person, according to the Thai government, which may stop issuing fresh passports to Vietnamese workers.
No explanations were provided, but the Thai Embassy in Seoul announced it on Wednesday, two weeks after Cambodians living abroad in countries like Vietnam and Laos protested an economic cooperation agreement.
The Seoul ambassador says card providers will be shut down on Sunday. Under the new needs, applicants must mark documents with their printed fingerprint while in Cambodia.  ,
There are about 54, 000 Thai staff in South Korea employed in development, agriculture and other sectors,  , according to the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights. They periodically send household an estimated US$ 300 million, the centre said, citing authorities officials.
The Seoul ambassador began offering card scanning a year ago shortly after Hun Manet was approved as prime minister by the National Assembly. On Thursday, RFA was unable to contact Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Chum Sounry for opinion.
Anti-CLV demonstrations
According to a Thai contractor in South Korea who requested secrecy for security reasons, Wednesday’s announcement was undoubtedly a response to recent demonstrations against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle Development Area, or CLV.
They are attempting to “scratch the souls of the boys” because they are aware that our young people have a lot to think about the region, the contractor said. ” In this program, it is very difficult to live, I do not know what to say, what to examine it to. Simply look at the reality”.
The CLV may lead to Cambodia losing some of its healthy solutions to Vietnam, according to protesters.  ,
Hun Manet, Hun Sen, the head of the Senate, and other top ministers have publicly stated that Cambodia wo n’t lose territory under the CLV.  ,
Hun Sen, who ordered the arrest of three protesters next month for remarks made in a Facebook videos, has responded furiously to the criticism, threatening widespread prosecutions in comment, citing the need for security.  ,
Protests planned for Aug. 18 in Cambodia always took position after , security forces were deployed throughout the state. In recent months, Cambodian government have taken over 30 arrests in an effort to halt rallies.
Brother of advocate arrested
Grass Vannith, the brother of a political activist from Cambodia who lives in Japan, was one of those detained.  ,
Grass Vannith was detained in Poipet in northern Cambodia on Aug. 16 , as he attempted to cross into Thailand , only days after Hun Sen formally threatened the blogger’s home.
Officials claim Grass Vannith has been relocated to the Prey Sar jail in Phnom Penh and is facing provocation costs.  ,
Hun Sen, 72, is the parents of Hun Manet. After the ruling Thai People’s Party, which had been barred from the ballot in the July 2023 regional elections, he resigned as prime minister last year, but he has remained in charge as president of both the Senate and the ruling party. He has now taken control of 120 of the 125 seats.
In recent years, most of Cambodia’s democratic opposition has been co-opted, jailed or forced to leave the region. Tens of thousands of fresh Cambodians have even relocated abroad to find more lucrative job in nations like South Korea or Japan, where they can even speak more easily.  ,
According to the Vietnamese contractor in South Korea, there have been discussions on social media about holding a second rally against the CLV in September.
According to social activist Yang Sineth, authorities have recently been requesting access to Cambodians ‘ Instagram accounts when they visit the official to maintain or request a new card. They were trying to determine if the candidates had participated in the current presentations, he said.
” Normally, the participants will of course have pictures, videos, photos of them ]at the protests ]”, he said. ” But, when they go back to Cambodia to obtain their passports, they may feel overwhelmed”.
