Answering every question on Thursday as she was transported by police from the city of Ulsan to Seoul, the woman gave the same answer: “I didn’t do it.” New Zealand has applied for the extradition of the Korean-born 42-year-old suspect in connection with the discovery of the bodies of two children, aged about five and 10, inside suitcases at a warehouse in Auckland on August 11. Police said at the time that they estimated the children’s remains had been there for three or four years. Since the suspect is a citizen of New Zealand and the treaty between the two countries, the South Korean government is likely to extradite her immediately, Lee Soo-jung, a professor of forensic psychology at Seoul’s Kyonggi University, told YTN. The suspect will then undergo a review at the Seoul High Court on whether she should be extradited, Park Seung-hoon, an official with the National Police Service, said on Wednesday. Park said no date had been set yet, but the review should be done within two months. Meanwhile, authorities in South Korea and New Zealand are now working to determine the facts of the years-old case, which came to light when a buyer bought the used suitcases online and discovered the children’s remains. Local media in South Korea reported that, following a request from Interpol and New Zealand police, South Korean police were able to find the suspect by monitoring her phone activity and medical records and through CCTV video analysis near the building where he was. he was reportedly staying with an acquaintance. Authorities say the suspect, whose name has not been released, left New Zealand for South Korea in 2018 after obtaining New Zealand citizenship. The arrest this week was the result of cooperation between Interpol and the police forces of the two countries. South Korea’s justice ministry confirmed in a press release that the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office arrested the woman on Thursday on suspicion of murder and searched her residence.
