The Southland Times

Suspect extradited from South Korea

- Kim Tong-Hyung

South Korea has extradited a 42-year-old murder suspect to New Zealand two months after she was arrested over her possible connection to the bodies of two long-dead children found in abandoned suitcases in August.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry said the unidentifi­ed woman was handed over to New Zealand authoritie­s on Monday evening (local time) at the Incheon internatio­nal airport near Seoul.

The ministry said it also has provided New Zealand with unspecifie­d ‘‘important evidence’’ on the case.

‘‘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 ministry said.

The woman is expected to appear at the Manukau District Court in Auckland.

Strict suppressio­n orders prevent media from revealing the children’s identities.

South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon issued an order for the woman’s extraditio­n early this month.

The Seoul High Court had earlier granted approval of her extraditio­n after she expressed her consent in writing to be sent back to New Zealand.

South Korean police arrested the woman at a southern port city in September, based on a domestic court warrant issued after New Zealand requested her provisiona­l arrest.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice then submitted a formal request for her extraditio­n to the South Korean ministry.

New Zealand Police said the South Korean warrant for the suspect’s arrest was in connection with two murder charges.

The children’s bodies were discovered in August after a New Zealand family bought abandoned goods, including two suitcases, from a storage unit in an online auction. The children were between 5 and 10 years old.

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