I would not be surprised if the extradition procedures against Chung Yoo-ra does drag on considering how little evidence of a crime is at least publicly being offered by Korean prosecutors against her:

The extradition of Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, the central figure in a massive scandal which has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, is expected to take some time.

Chung, 20, was arrested in Denmark’s northern city of Aalborg, Sunday, for staying there illegally. A local Danish court approved a four-week extension of her confinement the following day. Chung appealed, but the higher court denied her appeal.

Chung is reported to have accepted the higher court’s ruling, but is unwilling to return to Korea under any circumstances, according to a Yonhap report, Friday.

Earlier, Chung, who has a 19-month-old son with her, proposed to Korean authorities that she would be willing to go to Korea if she could remain with her son, whether at a welfare center or hospital. The authorities denied her request.

She reportedly changed her stance after seeing with her son at the detention center, Thursday.

Chung is arguing that her son is the main reason for her not to be extradited, as she will be detained when she arrives in Korea and won’t be able to take care of him.

By Jan. 30, Danish authorities will review whether the charges Chung faces justify her extradition to Korea. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

This is similar to my extensive firsthand experience with Korean journalism. No sense of professionalism or ethics. https://t.co/K9OBnXOjAF

— KingSejong (@KingSejong) January 8, 2017

Here is a good read about how the JTBC journalist track down Chung Yoo-ra in Denmark.  As it turns out it really wasn’t that hard to find her:

This is the inside story of how Chung Yoo-ra was captured in Aalborg, Denmark. An enterprising TV reporter from South Korea drove all night and tracked Chung down in a rented house in northern Denmark.  Inside, he found Chung, her 19-month old baby, 2 horse caretakers, a nanny, 3 dogs and 9 cats.  It was quite an entourage. What’s sad about this story is that Chung and her adult enablers became fugitives because this is the only way they knew how to behave. It may seem improbable and ludicrous for a single mom to be on the run with her toddler, adult hangers-on and 12 furry animals.  However, this is completely rational from the viewpoint of Chung, who never had to face consequences and always got her way while being raised in South Korea.  [All News Korea]

You can read the rest at the link, but not only did she have a large entourage, but she was hiding out in a large rented estate that she was known to keep horses at.  You would think with all the money Choi Soon-sil had that she would have hired someone competent to help her daughter hide out.

This photo taken on Jan. 6, 2017, shows mountains near the northeastern port city of Sokcho being covered with snow as the region received heavy snowfall overnight, creating postcard scenery. (Yonhap)

UPDATE: The monk has died:

 A South Korean monk was pronounced dead on Monday, two days after he set himself on fire during a mass rally in central Seoul against the country’s impeached president, hospital officials said.

The monk identified by his surname Seo had been in serious condition since he poured inflammables on his body and burned himself at around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday during the weekly candlelight vigil joined by tens of thousands of people, according to the officials.

He, who sustained serious burns all over his body, was pronounced dead at around 7:40 p.m. Multiple organ dysfunction was cited as the main cause of death.

The police suspect the 64-year-old monk tried to commit suicide since he left what is seen as a suicide note in which he called for President Park Geun-hye to immediately step down.  [Yonhap]

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Via a reader tip comes news that Korean monk has set himself on fire in protest of the comfort women deal struck back in 2015 between Korea and Japan.  I would love to know what this guy’s mental state was at the time because I would have to think you would have to be a little but nuts to set yourself on fire:

A South Korean Buddhist monk is in critical condition after setting himself on fire to protest the country’s settlement with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves, officials said Sunday.

The 64-year-old monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and serious damage to vital organs. He’s unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, said an official from the Seoul National University Hospital, who didn’t want to be named citing office rules.

The man set himself ablaze late Saturday during a large rally in Seoul calling for the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye, police said. In his notebook, the man called Park a “traitor” over her government’s 2015 agreement with Japan that sought to settle a long-standing row over South Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan’s World War II military, police said.  [Associated Press]

You can read the rest at the link, but I think Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a fair point that this agreement should be implemented regardless of leadership changes as a matter of “creditability”.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

Apple confirms South Korea store plans, challenging Samsung at home https://t.co/6Z1dxyYMGD via @WSJ

— KimcheeGI (@KimcheeGI) January 6, 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a newly built bag factory in Pyongyang, his first public outing of the new year, in this photo released by the North’s ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun on Jan. 5, 2017. The plant is capable of producing over 242,000 school bags and 60,000 ordinary bags a year, according to the paper. (Yonhap)

Ms. Hannah Kim has actually been highly involved with Korean War veterans issues for many years and her latest project is to interview Korean War veterans around the world:

Hannah Kim, a former spokeswoman of former U.S. representative Charles Rangel, plans to meet with Korean War veterans worldwide to collect historical data.

The 33-year-old former spokesperson plans to visit 16 countries that sent troops to Korea during the Korean War, and another five countries that gave medical support. She will travel for four months, starting this month. She plans to make video and audio recordings of those who participated in the war so young people in Korea and abroad can learn from them.

Rangel, who is also a Korean War veteran, was one of the key congressmen that helped pass many resolutions and bills related to Korea, such as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance. Rangel retired from politics last month.

“I became interested in Korean War veterans after helping Congressman Charles Rangel’s schedules related to the Korean War,” Kim said. “I thought that our generation needs to keep records of the veterans across the world while they are still alive.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but interviewing Korean War veterans from other nations outside the US that participated in the conflict should be interesting for her.  I always find it interesting to learn more about the experiences of non-US troops during the war from putting together my ongoing Heroes of the Korean War series.

For anyone looking to make some easy money in Korea, get yourself some egg laying chickens that don’t have the bird flu virus because the price of eggs is skyrocketing:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it is discussing with Korea ways for American egg producers to tap into the Korean market that is suffering from an egg shortage as a result of a massive outbreak of avian influenza.

Amid the rising egg prices due to the outbreak of bird flu that was detected in November, the department spokesperson said that the U.S. and Korea are “engaged in technical discussions to provide access for U.S. egg producers to the Korean liquid egg market.

“Imports from the U.S. could help limit escalating production costs for processed food manufacturers in Korea and shield consumers from soaring egg prices,” the official added.

He did not mention when the U.S. will start exporting eggs to Korea.

Starting Saturday, the Korean discount store chain Homeplus raised the retail price of 30 eggs by 9.6 percent to 7,990 won ($6.67) at its 142 stores. Homeplus has increased its egg prices five times in a month and retail prices have jumped 31.4 percent over the month.

The latest price hike by Homeplus came a day after its rival Emart increased the price of 30 eggs by 8.6 percent to 7,580 won.

Officials of the companies expect egg prices to go up again ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the Korean government has even dropped import tariffs against US eggs until June 30th.