South Korean woman deported back from US after running a prostitution ring

A South Korean woman wanted in her home country for running a US-based prostitution ring has been arrested in California and handed back to authorities in Seoul, officials said Thursday.

Eun Suk Sun, 37, the subject of a South Korean warrant issued in May 2011, was flown from Los Angeles to Seoul under escort by officers from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

She is accused of operating a prostitution business in LA's Koreatown district that employed other Korean women. She was arrested in January for alleged immigration offenses, said an ICE statement.

"If the charges in this case prove true, this fugitive's actions degraded the local community and the lives of the women she exploited for her own enrichment," said Timothy Robbins of ICE's enforcement arm.

In the last six months, South Korean and US authorities have coordinated the repatriation of 18 criminal fugitives to Korea and the return of three fugitives wanted in the United States, ICE said.