A U.S. federal court has accepted South Korea’s request to extradite an American who is the prime suspect in a 1997 murder case.

The Justice Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday that a federal court in Los Angeles decided on Monday to extradite Arthur Patterson to South Korea.

The Justice Ministry asked the U.S. to extradite Patterson in December 2009 in line with the South Korea-U.S. treaty on extraditing criminals. Patterson refused extradition but the U.S. federal court turned down his request.

Patterson and Korean American Edward Lee were arrested in 1997 as suspects in the murder of a Korean college student at a hamburger shop in Itaewon, Seoul. Patterson was indicted on charges of possessing a weapon but not murder. He was released on a special pardon in 1998.

Prosecutors reopened investigations on the Itaewon murder case in 1999 but were unable to question Patterson as he had left for the U.S. shortly after a travel ban against him was lifted.