In brief
Hakyung Lee's trial starts amid public outrage after her children's remains were discovered in suitcases by an unsuspecting family. Accused of murdering her children prior to leaving New Zealand in 2018, the case raises numerous questions and deeper concerns regarding safety and familial obligations.
A woman accused of murdering her two children and hiding their remains in suitcases is going on trial in New Zealand, in a case that has shocked the country.
Hakyung Lee, who was extradited from South Korea to New Zealand in November 2022, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder.
The remains of her children were discovered in suitcases by a family who had purchased the contents of an abandoned storage unit at an auction in Auckland.
The bodies were believed to have been stored for several years.
Ms. Lee, 44, is a New Zealand national who was born in South Korea, and had been living in Auckland for several years at the time of the alleged crime, according to New Zealand media.
In 2017, the children's father died of cancer.
The two children died some time after that, though it is not known exactly when. Reports of their ages vary, but they were said to be aged between six and 10 at the time of their deaths.
According to South Korean police, Ms. Lee left New Zealand for South Korea in 2018.
The children's bodies were then discovered in August 2022 after a family bought a trailer-load of goods, including the suitcases, in an online auction.
Local media reported that the sale was part of an effort to clear abandoned items from a storage unit.
Police stated that the buyers had no connection to the deaths.
Ms. Lee was arrested in Ulsan, South Korea in September 2022 after Interpol issued a global red notice for her.
The identities of the children have not been publicly released, following suppression orders requested by members of their extended family.
