'Elusive' Kwon Do-hyung, Why Did He Hide in the 'Resort' Montenegro?

Via Singapore and Serbia to Montenegro
Balkan countries with difficult investigative cooperation
Uncertain if immediate extradition to Korea is possible

Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs, was recently apprehended in Montenegro, a rising vacation destination in the Balkans. Before Montenegro, he had been in Singapore and Serbia. Why was CEO Kwon in Montenegro?

First, let's trace CEO Kwon's movement route. In April of last year, as warnings about the potential crash of the cryptocurrency Luna continued, he fled South Korea and began escaping abroad. The first place he chose was Singapore. Singapore is a country more favorable to cryptocurrencies than South Korea. In 2017, South Korea banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), viewing them as speculative, but Singapore still allows them. In 2018, CEO Kwon established the parent company 'Terra Singapore' in Singapore and conducted the Luna ICO in 2019. His familiarity with Singapore, gained through experience with ICOs, likely played a role. Singapore is a famous tourist destination, so foreigners are not unfamiliar there.

However, as the United States also took an interest in the Luna incident, Interpol issued a red notice. A red notice is the strongest measure, meaning immediate extradition after arrest. Singapore, as a representative Anglo-American country, is strongly influenced by Interpol. The next destination he chose was Serbia.

Serbia Without an Extradition Treaty... Internal Turmoil and Unstable Security

Why Serbia? South Korea and Serbia have not signed an extradition treaty with each other. Serbia is a member of Interpol and thus under its influence. Additionally, since South Korea and Europe have agreements on criminal judicial cooperation and extradition, if he were caught in Serbia, he would still be extradited to South Korea. However, because there is no direct extradition treaty, the process takes a long time and involves complicated procedures. For this reason, in January, the head of the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, rather than the local South Korean embassy, separately requested investigative cooperation from the Serbian government.

Moreover, Serbia is a country still experiencing internal turmoil. Located in the Balkans, which has long been a region of conflict, Serbia remains unstable, with ongoing diplomatic conflicts with the breakaway Kosovo. Due to this, security is inevitably unstable, and mafias have gained power. In Serbia, mafia influence is known to surpass state administration and security.

Relatively Stable Security in Montenegro... No South Korean Embassy

However, as Serbian investigative authorities began full-scale investigations, CEO Kwon appeared to feel pressured. He moved to neighboring Montenegro, where security is relatively stable. Montenegro has recently gained attention as a vacation and tourist destination. Petrovac, a coastal city on the Adriatic Sea, is a favored resort city among Europe's wealthy and is also famous as a filming location for movies and music videos due to its outstanding scenery. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Montenegro's tourism industry dependency is very high, with the service sector, including tourism, accounting for more than 50% of the total GDP as of 2021.

Additionally, Montenegro does not have a South Korean embassy, making it difficult for South Korean judicial authorities to request cooperation there. It is presumed that CEO Kwon initially entered Montenegro illegally, intending to flee to another country. Montenegrin investigative authorities announced that there is no official record of CEO Kwon entering Montenegro. They also explained that he was attempting to depart for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, using a forged Costa Rican passport.

The Ministry of Justice plans to request the extradition of CEO Kwon from Montenegrin authorities. However, it is uncertain whether he will be immediately extradited to South Korea. The judicial authorities of the United States and Singapore are also investigating CEO Kwon, complicating the situation. If Montenegro hands him over first to the United States or Singapore instead of South Korea, it is expected to take a long time before he arrives in South Korea.