A group of 19 South Koreans held captive by a criminal enterprise in Myanmar have been rescued.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry on Tuesday, the group was safely transported from a region called Tachileik to the former capital of Yangon by local police the previous day before departing from Myanmar to return home.

The South Korean Embassy in Myanmar said it had provided necessary consular support while closely cooperating with the South Korean police and other agencies.

The ministry and the embassy had received a report in early October that South Koreans had been detained by a company operating outside the law in Tachileik, near the border with Thailand, after which the embassy notified the local police with a request for prompt action.

The company was searched in late October, securing the custody of the 19 South Koreans.

The so-called "Golden Triangle," a border region where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, has become a hub for the drug trade, illegal gambling, voice phishing, human trafficking, cyber scams and investment pyramid schemes.

This year alone has seen four similar cases of South Koreans held captive in the region after they were deceived by promises of large windfalls – three in Laos and one in Myanmar.