Korean mother accused of suitcase murders stands trial in New Zealand

A woman accused of killing her two young children and hiding their bodies in suitcases stood trial in New Zealand on Monday, in a case that has transfixed the country since the remains were discovered in 2022.

Lee Hak-yung, 44, appeared at the Auckland High Court. A Korean-born New Zealander, she is accused of killing her children – six-year-old Minu Jo and eight-year-old Yuna Jo – in 2018, shortly after the death of her husband from cancer.

The children’s remains lay undiscovered for years until the contents of a storage locker in Papatoetoe, South Auckland, were sold at auction. The unsuspecting buyers brought the suitcases home and found the bodies wrapped and hidden inside.

Lee had returned to South Korea in 2018, where she lived under a new identity. She was arrested in Ulsan in September 2022 after Interpol issued a red notice and was extradited to New Zealand two months later at the request of the police.

At Monday’s hearing, local media reported that Lee remained silent when asked by the judge how she would plead, with her silence ultimately recorded as a “not guilty” plea. She has chosen to represent herself during the trial, though the court has appointed two lawyers as standby counsel.