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A lawyer for Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak lodged a second motion to delay the extradition of Kim Kyung-joon, the ex-chief of the investment firm BBK and a key figure in a stock-price manipulation scandal threatening to embroil Lee on the eve of the presidential election. A senior Los Angeles prosecutor told the Chosun Ilbo over the phone that a judge will decide on the motion this week. However, the prosecutor said the motion is unlikely to derail Kim¡¯s extradition since all legal procedures for that were completed.
The prosecutor said a judge turned down a request to halt Kim¡¯s extradition on Thursday and Kim can be repatriated to Korea any time. He added LA prosecutors are waiting for the U.S. State Department to make a decision on the matter. A senior U.S. government official said Kim will be deported to Korea late next month and the State Department has no reasons to oppose the extradition. He added that Korea¡¯s interpretation of the extradition as being politically motivated was ¡°highly inappropriate.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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