Police said the woman is believed to be the mother of two children whose remains were found in a suitcase in New Zealand last month.
Korean police have just arrested a woman who is believed to be the mother of two children with bodies found in abandoned suitcase in New Zealand last month.
The South Korean New Zealander was arrested in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Thursday, after global agency Interpol issued a red notice, the National Police Service said. The woman, in her 40s, has been charged with murder.
The woman is suspected of fleeing to South Korea in 2018 after killing her seven-year-old and 10-year-old children in Auckland, authorities said.
The South Korean court will now consider whether to extradite her to New Zealand.
New Zealand police launched an investigation into the Auckland murder last month after the children’s remains were found by a family who found items in a locker they had purchased without finding.
The family found bodies unrelated to those killed.
The children had been dead for many years, and the suitcases had been in storage for at least three or four years, according to police.
Authorities believe the woman arrested in South Korea may be the mother of two victims, as her previous address in New Zealand was registered to the storage unit where the suitcases were kept. The woman’s husband had previously died of illness while in New Zealand, Yonhap news agency said.
New Zealand police said they have asked South Korean authorities to keep the woman in jail until she is extradited.
“For someone to be detained abroad for such a short period of time requires the support of the Korean authorities and the coordination of our New Zealand Police Interpol officers. me,” Detective Inspector Tofilau Fa’amanuia Vaaelua said in a statement.
He said the investigation had been “very difficult” and investigations were continuing in New Zealand and abroad.
Vaaelua said police will not comment further as the matter is ongoing in court. Authorities in New Zealand generally do not comment on pending trials to avoid the possibility of influencing the outcome.
