'Terra·Luna' Key Figure Kwon Do-hyung Insists on Returning to South Korea... "Shouldn't Be a Political Decision"

Kwon's Side Prefers South Korea Over the U.S., Citing Combined Sentencing

Kwon Do-hyung, the main figure behind the 'Terra·Luna' crash, has strongly requested the Montenegrin government to extradite him to South Korea. Kwon's side has been hoping for extradition to South Korea, where the maximum sentence for economic crimes is less than half of that in the United States.

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

He pointed out that the High Court has twice decided that Kwon should be extradited to South Korea based on laws and international treaties, repeatedly urging Minister Bozovic to make a legal, not political, decision.

Kwon's side has been hoping for extradition to South Korea because, while South Korea's maximum sentence for economic crimes is about 40 years, the U.S. adopts a combined sentencing approach for each crime, which could result in a sentence of over 100 years.

In September, the Montenegrin Supreme Court nullified the lower court's decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea and ruled that the decision-making authority should be transferred to the Minister of Justice. In response, Kwon's side filed a constitutional appeal, claiming it was unjust.

However, with the local Constitutional Court dismissing the constitutional appeal on the 24th, the decision on extradition now lies with Minister Bozovic.

While Minister Bozovic has not expressed his intentions, analysis suggests that the dismissal of the constitutional appeal has increased the likelihood of Kwon's extradition to South Korea.

In anticipation of Minister Bozovic's decision, Kwon's side has once again argued for extradition to South Korea.

Attorney Rodic previously argued in an interview with this media outlet in January that, from a legal standpoint, Kwon should be extradited to South Korea, not the United States.

He stated in that interview, "Based on all legal grounds, including the European Convention on Extradition, bilateral agreements with the United States, and domestic laws on international legal assistance, I am 100% confident that Kwon Do-hyung should be extradited to South Korea."

Pobjeda reported, "It will be revealed in the coming days whether Minister Bozovic, like his predecessor Andrej Milovic, will view this decision from a political perspective or judge it based on legal grounds."

Former Minister of Justice Milovic clearly argued that Kwon should be sent to the United States from a national interest perspective, stating, "The United States is our most important foreign policy partner," but he was dismissed last July.

Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, left for Singapore in April 2022, just before the Terra·Luna crash, and went into hiding.

Kwon later moved to Montenegro via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Serbia, and was arrested at a local airport on March 23 last year after a forged passport was discovered.

Kwon, who was sentenced to four months in prison for using a forged passport, was released on March 23 and transferred to a foreign detention center.

Yoo Ji-hee, Hankyung.com reporter keephee@hankyung.com