Children whose bodies were found in suitcases in Auckland named

September 25, 2023
Hakyung Lee appears in court in November, 2022.

The two children allegedly murdered by their mother and found in abandoned suitcases can now be named.

It comes after a judge discharged a non-publication order.

Minu Jo and Yuna Jo were discovered in suitcases last August, after a family bought the contents of an abandoned storage locker in Papatoetoe, in an online auction.

The family had transported the goods, including the suitcases, home to Clendon Park on a trailer before unpacking them.

At the time, police said the children had died a number of years before their remains were found.

Minu was born on March 6, 2012, while Yuna was born on September 13, 2009.

Their mother, Hakyung Lee, faces two charges of murder.

Lee, a Korean who is a New Zealand citizen, was taken into custody in South Korea last September after the Korean Ministry of Justice received a request from New Zealand for her provisional arrest in connection with the deaths of the children.

The Seoul High Court approved the extradition last November, and the woman was surrendered to three New Zealand police officers, who escorted her home.

She appeared at Manukau District Court less than 24 hours after landing in New Zealand.

She was able to keep her name secret until July, and the coroner now says there is "little value" in keeping the children's names hidden.

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