Daughter of South Korea’s ‘Rasputin’ held in Denmark

SEOUL: The daughter of one of the central figures in a South Korean influence-peddling scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment will face extradition proceedings in Denmark after Danish police arrested her on an Interpol request from Seoul.

Danish police said they had held Chung Yoo-ra on Sunday in the northern Danish city of Aalborg after identifying her as someone “wanted by the police for extensive financial economic crime in South Korea”.

Chung, a 20-year-old equestrian competitor, is the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park accused of colluding with the president to pressure businesses to contribute to nonprofit foundations. The scandal has drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Seoul for weekly demonstrations, and could result in Park, 64, becoming the first democratically elected South Korean leader to leave office early.

South Korean police had requested Chung’s extradition.