A New Zealand mother has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her two young children, whose bodies were discovered in suitcases sold in a storage unit auction years after their deaths.
Hakyung Lee, 45, was found guilty in September of killing her eight-year-old daughter Yuna Jo and six-year-old son Minu Jo in 2018, shortly after the death of her husband. Despite defense arguments that she was insane and intended for the family to “die together,” High Court Judge Geoffrey Venning ruled her actions were “calculated” and sentenced her to a minimum of 17 years in prison.
The case, which has horrified the nation, came to light only in 2022 when an unsuspecting couple won an auction for the contents of an abandoned storage unit in Auckland and made the grim discovery.
A Family’s Unending Grief
The sentencing hearing laid bare the profound and lasting pain inflicted on the families. In a heart-wrenching statement, Lee’s own mother, Choon Ja Lee, expressed her anguish: “If she wanted to die, why didn’t she die alone? Why did she take the innocent children with her?”
The children’s uncle, Jimmy Jo, spoke of a life sentence of his own. “It was my late brother’s will that I protect them,” he said. “This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled.” He revealed that the children’s grandmother still does not know they are dead.
A Calculated Act or a Broken Mind?
The court heard that Lee attempted to kill herself and the children by mixing a fatal dose of antidepressants into their juice. She awoke to find them dead, after which she changed her name, fled New Zealand, and was later arrested in South Korea in 2022.
While a psychiatric assessment suggested Lee was likely suffering from “atypical depression” and prolonged grief, Justice Venning concluded that mental health was only a partial factor. The prosecution had successfully argued the murders were a “selfish act to free herself from the burden of parenting alone.”
Justice Venning ordered that Lee be treated as a “special patient” due to her mental state but ultimately held her accountable for the calculated deaths that have left two families shattered.
By James Kisoo
