Core Figure Kwon Do-hyung of Terra·Luna Incident Insists on Extradition to Korea

Local Lawyer: "No Political Decision"
Maximum Sentences for Economic Crimes More Than Half Lower Than in the US

Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the 'Terra·Luna' crash incident, has strongly demanded repatriation to Korea from the Montenegrin government. Kwon's side prefers to go to Korea, where the maximum sentence is more than half lower than in the United States.

Kwon Do-hyung

Goran Lodi?, Kwon's local attorney, stated in an interview with the Montenegrin daily newspaper Pobjeda on the 25th (local time), "Although Bojan Bo?ovi?, the Minister of Justice, is a politician, this decision should not be political but based on legal grounds."

He pointed out that the High Court had twice decided that Kwon should be extradited to Korea based on laws and international treaties, and repeatedly requested Minister Bo?ovi? to make a lawful decision rather than a political one.

The Montenegrin Supreme Court invalidated the lower court's decision to extradite Kwon to Korea last September and ruled that the authority to decide be transferred to the Minister of Justice. In response, Kwon's side filed a constitutional complaint claiming unfairness. However, as the local Constitutional Court dismissed the complaint on the 24th, the decision on the extradition now lies with Minister of Justice Bo?ovi?.

Attorney Lodi? also argued in an interview with this media outlet in January that legally, Kwon should be extradited to Korea, not the United States. At that time, he said, "Based on all legal grounds including the European Convention on Extradition, the bilateral agreement with the United States, and domestic laws on international legal assistance, I am 100% confident that Kwon Do-hyung should be extradited to Korea."

In Korea, the maximum sentence for economic crimes is about 40 years, but the United States adopts a consecutive sentencing system that sums sentences for individual crimes, which can result in imprisonment exceeding 100 years. For this reason, Kwon's side has long hoped to be sent to Korea.

This media outlet reported, "It is expected to become clear within the next few days whether Minister Bo?ovi? will view this decision politically, like his predecessor Andrija Milovi?, or judge it based on legal grounds."

Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, disappeared after leaving for Singapore in April 2022, just before the cryptocurrency Terra·Luna crash incident. He then traveled through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Serbia before arriving in Montenegro, where he was arrested at a local airport on March 23 last year for using a forged passport. Kwon was sentenced to four months in prison for the forged passport charge and was released on March 23 this year after serving his sentence, after which he was transferred to a foreign detention center.