Seoul to join extradition treaty with COE

The Korean government can officially request all member states of the Council of Europe (COE) to repatriate suspected or convicted criminals as the extradition treaty goes into effect as early as October.

Currently, 25 countries have signed bilateral extradition treaties with Korea but the number will increase to 74 as Seoul joins the Convention on Extradition of Council of Europe.

“Thanks to the treaty, there will be fewer countries where criminals can flee and hide,” an official from the Ministry of Justice said.

The ministry plans to request the conclusion of the convention to the Council of Europe in June or July and the extradition treaty will automatically take effect 90 days thereafter, the official said.

COE has 47 signatories, most of which are European countries, and Korea will join the extradition treaty as a non-council member, following Israel and South Africa.

Starting with Australia in 1990, Korea has continued to sign extradition treaties with other countries — the U.S. in 1998, China in 2000 and Japan in 2002.