South Korean link suspected over New Zealand suitcase bodies

Police in Seoul believe a possible relative of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand last week is likely to be in South Korea.

Immigration records show that the unidentified woman in her 40s arrived in South Korea in 2018, but there has been no record of her departure since, according to Park Seung-hoon, an official at the National Police Agency in Seoul.

The remains of the children were found last week in Auckland after a family in New Zealand purchased the suitcases from an online auction of abandoned goods.

The children were between five and 10 years old and had been dead for a number of years, and the suitcases had been kept in storage for at least three or four years, Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said.

Mr Park said South Korean police have conveyed the information to New Zealand police after receiving a request for investigative help.

But South Korean police currently have no authority to track down the woman’s whereabouts or detain her as she remains a New Zealand citizen possibly linked to a crime that had happened in New Zealand, Mr Park said.

It would be difficult for South Korean police to pursue her unless New Zealand officials make a request for her extradition, which may happen if the investigation proceeds to a point where Interpol places a red notice against her, Mr Park said.

The woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand where she gained citizenship.

New Zealand police suspect the woman could be the mother of the children found dead, as her past address in New Zealand was registered to a storage unit where the suitcases were kept for years.