SEOUL • The daughter of the South Korean President's confidante, who is at the centre of an influence-peddling scandal, has said she will not return home.
She has been summoned to face questioning over the scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun Hye.
Ms Chung Yoo Ra, daughter of Choi Soon Sil, was arrested in the northern Danish city of Aalborg last Sunday and has been detained by the local authorities. The South Korean authorities had issued a warrant for her arrest.
Ms Chung has now withdrawn her earlier offer to voluntarily return to South Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting her acquaintances. Denmark said on Friday that Seoul has sought Ms Chung's extradition.
"The processing of the extradition case against the 20-year-old woman, Chung Yoo Ra, can now begin," Danish prosecutors said in a statement, adding that South Korea had e-mailed an extradition warrant.
Ms Chung had said she would fly back immediately if South Korean prosecutors allowed her to stay with her infant son.
The Danish authorities have turned down her request to be released and the South Korean special investigative team, led by independent counsel Park Young Soo, refused to make compromises on her detention, saying Ms Chung was a suspect.
The former equestrian stands at the centre of an extensive corruption scandal involving her mother, with allegations that Ms Chung was the beneficiary of large sums of money her mother allegedly coerced from conglomerates using her ties with President Park.
Should the Danish police agree to the extradition, Ms Chung is likely to file a petition in a Danish court. A ruling could take several months.
KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
