Extradition Decision

[Anchor Lead]

Choi Soon-sil's daughter Chung Yoo-ra, an important witness to the investigation into the influence peddling scandal, has been reluctant to return to South Korea voluntarily. Danish prosecutors are speeding up their work to decide on whether to extradite her.

[Pkg]

Danish prosecutors are accelerating a review of an extradition request for Chung Yoo-ra from South Korea's Justice Ministry. They are looking into whether any of Chung’s suspected criminal activities mentioned in the extradition request, such as allegations she received undue favors from Ewha Womans University and Samsung Group, constitute an illegality in Denmark. Danish prosecutors believe it is highly likely that Chung will file suit if they decide to repatriate her. So they are planning to make full preparations to win the anticipated lawsuit.

[Soundbite] Mohammad Ahsan(Denmark's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions)

The South Korean government said that it asked the Danish prosecution to make a quick decision to send Chung back to her home country. But most analysts think that if Chung refuses to voluntarily return to South Korea, it would take so much time to bring her back that even the exact timing of her extradition is unpredictable. Diplomatic authorities say that Chung will unlikely be deported from Denmark with her visa remaining effective. She has been ordered to turn in her passport, which will be invalidated from Tuesday.