Authorities did not immediately say whether the 42-year-old suspect was the mother of the dead children. New Zealand police had earlier told their South Korean counterparts that the mother might be living in South Korea. South Korean police arrested the woman in the southeastern port city of Ulsan, based on a South Korean court warrant issued after New Zealand requested her temporary arrest as part of extradition proceedings, according to South Korea’s National Police Service and the Ministry of Justice. . The unidentified woman covered her face with the hood of her coat as officers escorted her out of an Ulsan police station and put her in a car bound for the capital, Seoul, where she was expected to be questioned by prosecutors. New Zealand authorities must submit a formal extradition request to South Korea’s justice ministry within 45 days. The ministry will then decide whether to proceed with an extradition review at the Seoul High Court to decide whether to send it to New Zealand. New Zealand police said the South Korean warrant related to two counts of murder and asked South Korean authorities to hold the woman in jail pending extradition. “Having someone in custody overseas in such a short period of time is down to the assistance of the Korean authorities and the coordination of our New Zealand Interpol police personnel,” said Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’manuaia Vaaelua. He said the investigation was “very challenging” and inquiries were ongoing both in New Zealand and overseas. Vaaelua said police would not comment further as the matter was now before the courts. Authorities in New Zealand do not normally comment on pending court cases to avoid the possibility of influencing the outcome. The children’s bodies were discovered last month after a New Zealand family bought abandoned goods, including two suitcases, from an Auckland storage unit at an online auction. Police said the New Zealand family had nothing to do with the deaths. The children were between 5 and 10 years old, had been dead for several years, and the suitcases had been stored for at least three or four years, police said. South Korean police say the woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand, where she acquired citizenship. He returned to South Korea in 2018, according to immigration records. South Korean police say they suspect she could be the mother of the two victims, as her previous address in New Zealand was listed at the storage facility where the suitcases were kept for years.
Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
