Suspect in the 'Body in the Bag' Case is 42-Year-Old Lee Ha-gyeong... New Zealand Court Discloses Identity

A New Zealand court has abruptly revealed the identity of a Korean woman arrested last year on charges of killing her two children in New Zealand. The suspect was born in Korea and is known to have immigrated to New Zealand and obtained citizenship.

According to local media including Stuff on the 19th (local time), the New Zealand Court of Appeal decided that the defendant's identity could be disclosed. The defense had requested confidentiality, arguing that revealing her identity could threaten her personal safety, but the court did not accept this. Judge Ann Hinton ruled, "We have not received evidence that disclosing the defendant's name would seriously affect the case or put her safety at risk."

[Photo by New Zealand Herald YouTube]

After the ruling, local media published the suspect's real name and photos. The name disclosed by the New Zealand court is Hakyung Lee, aged 42. Images of Ms. Lee entering the courtroom were also released.

Earlier in March, the New Zealand High Court had also rejected Ms. Lee's request to keep her identity confidential, but she immediately appealed the decision. As a result, her identity was not disclosed until the appellate court ruling on this day, after which her personal information became known for the first time.

This case is known as the New Zealand "Body in the Bag" case and has been reported in Korea as well. In August last year, an Auckland resident discovered the bodies of two children, aged 6 and 8, inside a used travel bag purchased at an online auction, bringing the case to light. The bodies were identified as Korean children living in the same area, and local police named their biological mother, Hakyung Lee, as a suspect. Ms. Lee entered Korea in 2018 and lived in hiding until she was arrested in September last year at an apartment in Ulsan City. She was extradited to New Zealand in November of the same year and formally charged while in custody.

Since her arrest by Korean police, Ms. Lee has maintained her innocence and denied all questions from reporters regarding the charges of killing and abandoning her biological children. During an administrative hearing held at the Auckland High Court in April, she reportedly shouted at the judge, "I did not do it," and was escorted out by court officers. The trial for Ms. Lee's murder charges is scheduled for April next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.