Last fugitive linked to ferry disaster that killed over 300 is extradited to South Korea from the US
- Yoo Hyuk-kee faces charges related to the company that operated the Sewol ferry that capsized in 2014, killing 304 people including 250 children
- The doomed vessel was found by government investigators to be structurally unsound and overloaded
A South Korean businessman wanted for nine years by authorities was extradited from the United States on Friday to face charges linked to one of the country’s worst maritime disasters in which over 300 people, mostly children, were killed.
Yoo Hyuk-kee was taken into custody on arrival from New York, where he had been fighting extradition to South Korea, where he faces embezzlement charges related to the company that operated the doomed vessel. Last year, the US Supreme Court rejected his bid to block the extradition.
Yoo, 50, also known as Keith Yoo, has denied the charges.
The Sewol ferry was found by government investigators to be structurally unsound and overloaded when it capsized in April 2014, killing 304 people including 250 children who were on a school trip.
The ship was owned and operated by Chonghaejin Marine, which was one of the companies held by I-One-I, an investment vehicle controlled by Yoo Byung-un, Keith Yoo’s father, who was found dead two months after the ferry accident after eluding authorities.
South Korean prosecutors have alleged Keith Yoo had defrauded various companies controlled by I-One-I.