French court approves extradition of S.Korea ferry owner's daughter
Paris (AFP) - A Paris court on Wednesday authorised the extradition of the daughter of a South Korean tycoon blamed for a ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people.
Lawyers for Yoo Som-Na said they would appeal the ruling. Yoo ,47, is wanted in South Korea on suspicion that she embezzled millions of dollars from subsidiaries owned by the family company Chonghaejin Marine Co.
South Korean authorities believe that the alleged embezzlement contributed to safety defects that led to the April ferry disaster which claimed more than 300 lives, most of them schoolchildren.
If extradited and convicted in South Korea, Yoo faces up to 45 years behind bars.
Several Chonghaejin officials have already been arrested over the disaster.
Yoo's father Yoo Byung-Eun had been the target of a nationwide manhunt after he refused to respond to an official summons following the ferry disaster.
He was finally found dead in a plum orchard on June 12, although a post-mortem autopsy failed to determine the cause of death.
He did not have any direct stakes in Chonghaejin, but his children and close aides control it through a complex web of holding companies.
