By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Japanese authorities are likely to deport the late actress Jang Ja-yeon's former agency head, according to Korea's Ministry of Justice Friday.
A ministry official said that its Japanese counterpart promised to cooperate with Korea's request for Kim Sung-hoon to be ordered to leave the country.
The Korean government had originally requested his extradition, but decided to seek deportation instead because the extradition process can take up to three months. His passport had already been cancelled.
"We expect to get him from Japan in a week or a month at the longest", the official said.
Jang committed suicide at her home south of Seoul in March, leaving a note indicating that she was forced to provide sexual services and entertainment to media and showbiz VIPs in return for more media exposure.
Kim, who allegedly forced her to do so, has been hiding in Japan since her death, but was detained by Japanese police in Tokyo Wednesday.
Kim told the police in Japan that sexual services were not the reason for Jang's suicide, Kyodo News reported Thursday.
Another news regarding the cases...
Extradition back to Korea could fall within one week.
Police investigating the suicide of actress Jang Ja-yeon said they will resume their probe into the case following a two-month hiatus after the primary suspect was arrested on Wednesday at a hotel in Tokyo, Japan. Han Poong-hyun, chief of the Bundang Police Precinct in Gyeonggi, said at a press briefing yesterday that the police are in discussions with Japanese police over extraditing Kim Sung-hoon, the head of Jang's former management company, as soon as possible. The chief added that Japanese law enforcement authority will likely hand over Kim within one week at the earliest since he is currently recognized as an illegal immigrant.
Kim fled to Japan on Dec. 2 last year after the Jongno Police Precinct in central Seoul asked him to show up for questioning about a separate case involving the alleged sexual harassment of a male model.
Kim flew to Japan with a visa valid for 90 days that expired on March 1. South Korea's Foreign Ministry nullified his passport on June 14.
Bundang police officially asked for the cooperation of Jongno Police in seeking Kim's extradition from Japan in April through the Korean Justice Ministry.
Police said the extradition period lasts three months at most. Japanese prosecutors have to request a court to approve the extradition and the court needs time to make a judgment.
"A senior prosecutor dispatched to the Korean Embassy in Japan is consulting with officials at Japan's Justice Ministry", said Yoo Ho-geun, an official at the Korean Justice Ministry. "It is likely that the Japanese government will agree to our request to expel Kim".
Bundang police submitted their interim report on the Jang case on April 24 after interviewing 20 people and accusing eight men of forcing the actress to serve them drinks and have sex.
Meanwhile, Kim's lawyers have accused Yoo Jang-ho, the head of Jang's management agency at the time of her suicide, of defamation after he allegedly leaked Jang's letters to the media in which she complained about how she was treated.
Among these nine accused men are three entertainment agency officials, including Yoo, two producers, three financial industry officials and the head of an IT company.
Allegations that Kim had assaulted Jang shook the nation in the weeks following her suicide on March 7 at her residence in Bundang. Kim was also accused of coercing Jang to serve drinks to influential businessmen.
By Jang Joo-young, Lee Min-yong
*I'm so interested in this case... hmm can't just get rid of it.
