'Tera' Kwon Do-hyung, Montenegro Constitutional Petition Dismissed... Likely to Head to the US

Gwon Do-hyeong, a key figure in the 'Terra·Luna' incident who was arrested in Montenegro and is undergoing extradition proceedings, filed a constitutional complaint claiming legal issues regarding the authority to decide on extradition, but it was rejected. The extradition process for Gwon has resumed, and Bojan Bozovic, Montenegro's Minister of Justice, is expected to make the final decision.

On the 24th (local time), local daily newspapers Vijesti and Pobjeda reported that the Constitutional Court of Montenegro unanimously dismissed the constitutional complaint filed by Gwon's side.

Mr. Kwon Do-hyung is coming out of the police station after being questioned at the police headquarters in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, on March 23 (local time). Photo by EPA Yonhap News

On October 19th, the Constitutional Court accepted a provisional injunction filed by Gwon's side, suspending the enforcement of the Supreme Court's decision and the extradition procedure against Gwon, and began deliberations.

This constitutional complaint aimed to examine the legal validity of the Supreme Court's decision on September 19th to nullify the lower court's ruling for Gwon's extradition to Korea and to transfer the authority for extradition decisions to the Minister of Justice.

Gwon's side argued that the extradition procedure was conducted unfairly and that there were errors in legal interpretation.

However, in its decision on the day, the Constitutional Court stated, "Considering the entire context of this case, it was judged that the defendant (Gwon Do-hyeong) was sufficiently guaranteed the right to a fair trial and that his family life rights were not violated."

With the Constitutional Court's dismissal, the Minister of Justice Bozovic will make the final decision on which country to send Gwon to, according to the Supreme Court's ruling.

Minister Bozovic appeared on a local TV current affairs program on the 4th of last month and said, "We discussed (Gwon's case) diplomatically with representatives from the Korean and U.S. embassies, but there was no pressure."

However, based on the current situation, there is an analysis that extradition to the United States is more likely. The Montenegrin government may prefer the U.S. over Korea from a national interest perspective, and considering that the Prosecutor General's Office filed objections twice to the Supreme Court against the lower court's decision to extradite to Korea, it suggests that Montenegro's Ministry of Justice favors Gwon's transfer to the U.S.

Nonetheless, since the sentence expected in the U.S. is heavier than in Korea, Gwon's side is expected to use all legal means to raise objections.

With conflicting positions between the judiciary and the government, Gwon's extradition has remained unresolved for 1 year and 9 months. According to Pobjeda, this decision by the Constitutional Court is the 13th ruling related to Gwon's extradition trial.

Gwon is a co-founder of Terraform Labs, which issued the cryptocurrency Terra·Luna. It is estimated that global investors suffered losses exceeding 50 trillion won due to the Terra·Luna crash in 2022.