South Korea extradites the 42-year-old ‘suitcase murder’ suspect to New Zealand
The South Korean authorities on Tuesday said that they had extradited the 42-year-old woman, a murder suspect to New Zealand on Monday (Nov 29) evening at the Incheon international airport near Seoul.
The South Korean ministry in its statement said, “With the extradition, we hope that the truth of the case, which has garnered worldwide attention, will be revealed through the fair and strict judicial process of New Zealand.”
The extradition was issued by the justice minister of South Korea, Han Dong-hoon earlier this month. The Seoul high court also issued her extradition after the woman expressed her consent in writing, the Guardian reported.
The unidentified woman was arrested in August this year after the discovery of two dead bodies of children who died years ago. She was first arrested by the South Korean government based on a domestic court order, but later New Zealand’s authorities requested her provisional arrest.
New Zealand’s police said that both the children had been dead for years and the suitcase had been stored in Auckland for at least three or four years. Both were between the age group of five and 10. The children were found by a New Zealand family who bought some abandoned goods including suitcases from an online auction website.
As per South Korean police, the woman was born in South Korea. She later moved to New Zealand and even gained citizenship. However, as per the immigration record, she returned to South Korea in 2018.
(With inputs from agencies)
