(LEAD) Mistress of Koh's father arrested on suspected involvement in her death

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JEONJU, South Korea, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- Police said Saturday that they have put a mistress of the father of a 5-year-old girl recently found dead under emergency arrest on suspicion that she was involved in disposing of her body.

The 35-year-old women, identified only by her surname Lee, was arrested for investigation into the death of Koh Jun-hee, according to police.

On Thursday, the father confessed that he and the mother of his mistress had dumped her body on a hill in the city 270 kilometers south of Seoul in April. The body was found Friday, and he was placed under emergency arrest.

Lee was arrested based on the father's confession that she was with him when the girl died. She has denied any involvement.

"We suspect Lee was also involved in disposing of the girl's body," a police official said. "Additional investigation is needed to figure out what actually happened."

The father has claimed that Koh died because she choked on food and that he concealed her death for fear that it would cause trouble in his divorce settlement with her birth mother.

Police have conducted an autopsy on her body but have yet to determine what exactly caused her death since it was badly decayed, officials said.

Police opened their investigation into the case after Lee reported to the police on Dec. 8 that she had gone missing for months.

Later in the day, a court issued official arrest warrants for the father and Lee's mother on concern that they might flee or destroy evidence. Police plan to ask for a court-issued arrest warrant for Lee.
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