Seoul, Sep 22 (IANS): A US citizen suspected of murdering a South Korean college student in 1997 will be extradited this week, officials said on Tuesday.

The justice ministry said Arthur Patterson, who is suspected of stabbing a 22-year-old college student, identified by his surname Cho, multiple times at a Burger King outlet in Seoul's Itaewon district in 1997, will arrive at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

At the time, Patterson was in Korea as the dependent of a civilian worker with the US military and a Korean mother. Patterson was under investigation when he fled the country in 1999. His departure was made possible after law enforcement authorities failed to extend his foreign travel ban.

Prosecutors indicted Patterson for the murder of the student in November 2011 and set the extradition process into motion.

While Patterson was caught in the US, he has been delaying extradition by submitting multiple habeas corpus petitions, justice ministry added.

Once he arrives in South Korea, he will be transferred to the Seoul Detention Centre before standing trial.