Pre-trial procedures On 30 November 2022, the suspect appeared at the
Manukau District Court in
South Auckland where she entered no plea. She was remanded into custody and the identities of the suspect, her children, and an unidentified relative were suppressed. On 14 December, she pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. On 3 May 2023, during an administrative hearing she said "I'm going to prove my innocence". On 8 May, her lawyers argued for continued name suppression in the Court of Appeals. On 19 July 2023, the suspect was identified as Hakyung Lee, the mother of the two children. The
New Zealand Court of Appeal lifted name suppression, rejecting her lawyer Chris Wilkinson-Smith's argument that publishing her identity would result in extreme hardship, endanger her safety, and prejudice her ability to engage in court proceedings or medical assessments. Lee has denied murdering her children and has pleaded not guilty. On 25 September 2023, Coroner Tania Tetitaha lifted interim name suppression for the deceased children. In response to the lifting of name suppression, two New Zealand-based relatives applied to have their names and identifying details suppressed. On 8 September 2025, Lee pleaded not guilty to two murder charges at the
Auckland High Court. Justice Geoffrey Venning indicated that she would raise an insanity defence. She is representing herself with the assistance of two court-appointed lawyers Lorraine Smith and Chris Wilkinson Smith. The Crown was represented by solicitor Natalie Walker and prosecutors Jay Tausi and Jong Kim. Other key witnesses included Lee's mother Choon Ja Lee, forensic accountant Andrew Yoon, South Korean Detective Sergeant Sung Kyu Hwang, Detective Sergeant Ryan Singleton and digital forensic analyst Damian Govender. The defence's sole witness was the psychiatrist Dr. Yvette Kelly, who argued that Lee met the criteria of insanity under Section 23 of the
Crimes Act 1961. In response, the Crown's rebuttal witness, forensic psychiatrist Erik Monasterio, presented evidence showing that Lee did not display symptoms of
schizophrenia.
Closing arguments On 22 September, the court heard closing arguments from both the Crown and defence. Prosecutor Walker argued that Lee was not insane when she killed her children, citing her actions following their deaths including changing her name, accessing a storage facility, cleaning and vacating her rental property, and booking a business-class flight to South Korea. She also pointed out that Lee had told several lies to her family, police and doctors about her children's deaths. Walker also argued that Lee had lied about her suicide attempts. She also cited Monasterio's testimony that the defendant did not display symptoms of psychosis or indicate that she was unaware that her actions were morally wrong. Defence stand-by counsel Smith told the court that Lee had been mentally unwell throughout her life and that her mental state had deteriorated following the death of her husband. Smith said that Lee had made three previous suicide attempts including one following her father's death when she was 18 years old. She argued that Lee's mental health deteriorated in the seven months following the death of her husband. Consequently, Lee came to believed that the only solution was killing herself and her children. Smith argued that Lee's belief that she had caused her father and husband's death, and her son's cleft pallet demonstrated that she was "disconnected from reality." After three and half hours of deliberating, the jury convicted Lee of murdering her two children Yuna and Minu Jo. Justice Venning confirmed the verdict and remanded Lee into custody until her sentencing on 26 November. ==References==