Danish Court Allows Extradition of S. Korean Woman

JAMES BROOKS, AP

AALBORG, Denmark (AP) — A Danish court on Wednesday upheld a decision by the public prosecutor in Copenhagen to allow the extradition of the daughter of the former confidante of South Korea's ousted president to face prosecution in her home country.

The 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra, who is wanted as part of the corruption investigation, is the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, who is jailed in South Korea on suspicion of bribery and receiving favors from companies in return for manipulating government affairs.

The District Court Of Aalborg ruled that there was no impediment to extraditing her, prosecution spokesman Simon Gosvig said. Chung was arrested in Aalborg in northern Denmark on Jan. 1 on an international warrant.

Her defense lawyer, Michael Juul Eriksen, said he appealed the ruling immediately after the court ruling. The appeal hearing is expected in "one to two months," Juul Eriksen said.

Earlier, he told reporters that Chung would be willing to go back to South Korea if she were allowed to stay in touch with her daughter.

"I think she actually would be willing to go if they could just ensure they could provide some sort of possibility that she keep in touch with her child, but that doesn't seem to be possible and that's quite inhumane in my opinion," he told reporters on arrival at the courthouse. "I think it's her opinion that she's used as a pawn in a case in Korea, maybe used to put pressure on her mother because that would put pressure on her to actually sit in jail in Korea."

The prosecutor's office last month had determined that all conditions for her extradition request had been met.

President Park Geun-hye was removed from office last month on allegations that she colluded with Choi.

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Matti Huuhtanen in Helsinki contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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