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Danish higher court dismisses appeal by daughter of S. Korea's Choi Soon-sil

Xinhua, January 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

Western High Court of Denmark on Tuesday rejected an appeal made by Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, against a local court's decision to remand her in custody for four weeks.

Western High Court decided that the 20-year-old, wanted by the South Korean police for alleged economic crime, should remain in custody for four weeks after her arrest by Danish police on Sunday, a prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Chung was arrested by police in the northern Danish city of Aalborg after a tip from a South Korean journalist said that she was staying at a certain address in the city.

After a hearing on Monday, the Court of Aalborg decided to remand Chung in custody for four weeks. The case has since been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the authority in Denmark that deals with extradition requests from other countries.

The Office said that it is still awaiting the formal extradition request from the South Korean authorities.

When the Office receives this request, the extradition case proceedings can begin, according to the statement.

"How long it takes us to reach a decision in the extradition case is partly dependent on when we receive the necessary documents from South Korea," said Mohammad Ahsan, deputy director from the Office, noting that a decision will be made within a few weeks after receiving all required documents.

"The case is being treated with the same respect for Danish law as in any other extradition case. There are procedures that we must follow, but of course we are processing the case as efficiently as possible," Ahsan added.

Chung's mother Choi is charged with using her friendship with President Park to extort funds from large businesses and meddling in state affairs though she has no government position and security clearance. Chung is alleged to have received illegal favors when entering a prestigious university. Enditem