President Lee Jae Myung held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Vietnam and Thailand to discuss combating the scams spreading across Southeast Asia.

The presidential office said in a press release Thursday that Lee had met Vietnamese President Luong Cuong and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju.

In his meeting with Cuong, Lee emphasized that an effective response to online scam centers in Southeast Asia will require both bilateral and multilateral cooperation and expressed hope that Vietnam and South Korea will effectively combat transnational crime.

Cuong noted that Vietnamese nationals have also been victims of online scams and said that authorities in both nations should continue working together to protect their citizens.

The presidential office said Lee also discussed scams during his bilateral meeting with Anutin.

According to the office, the two leaders agreed that no single nation can stop transnational crime and underscored the importance of international cooperation.