28 January 2017•Update: 30 January 2017
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korean special prosecutors conceded Saturday they must provide more documents to support an extradition request for a young suspect being held in Denmark.
The 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra is the daughter of impeached President Park Geun-hye's long-time confidante Choi Soon-sil.
With Choi having spent weeks in detention on power abuse charges, South Korean authorities were unable to track down Chung until she was caught in the Danish city of Aalborg in early January thanks to a tip-off from journalists.
Chung's alleged favorable treatment as an equestrian star and student at one of Seoul's top universities has been at the center of wider influence-peddling allegations that led to Park's impeachment in December and the ongoing prosecution of several former government officials.
Denmark's justice system set an initial deadline for the end of January to decide on Chung's possible extradition, but a weeks-long review ended Friday as Danish prosecutors stated the process was suspended until Seoul could provide more information.
A member of South Korea's specially appointed investigation team said they would do their best to comply "as soon as possible," according to local news agency Yonhap.
Korean residents in Aalborg have been holding rallies this month to encourage Chung's extradition, reflecting widespread anger back in South Korea -- where millions of people have protested over the country's corruption scandal since it erupted in October.
