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"Possibility of Life Imprisonment in the U.S."... 'Terra' Kwon Do-hyung's Desperate Resistance

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Korea Economic Daily
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  • Kwon Do-hyung is reportedly resisting the decision by the Montenegro Ministry of Justice to extradite him to the U.S. through legal procedures.
  • It is reported that if Mr. Kwon is extradited to the U.S., he could face a punishment close to life imprisonment due to the high sentences for economic crimes in the U.S.
  • Unlike Montenegro, the maximum sentence for economic criminals in Korea is lower, and Mr. Kwon reportedly hopes to be sent to Korea.
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  • The article was summarized using an artificial intelligence-based language model.
  • Due to the nature of the technology, key content in the text may be excluded or different from the facts.

Decision by the Montenegro Ministry of Justice to Extradite to the U.S.

Local Lawyers Resist with Various Reasons

Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the cryptocurrency 'Terra·Luna' crash, is using all legal means to resist Montenegro's decision to extradite him to the United States.

According to local dailies Vijesti and Pobjeda, the Montenegro Ministry of Justice announced in a statement on the 27th (local time) that Minister Bojan Bozovic signed an order to extradite Mr. Kwon to the United States. As soon as the Ministry of Justice's announcement was made, Mr. Kwon's local legal representatives, lawyers Goran Rodic and Marija Radulovic, immediately responded.

In a statement distributed to the media on the same day, they argued that "extradition cannot proceed until the decision is officially delivered in a language that the client and the legal team can understand." They also stated, "We requested immediate notification once the Ministry of Justice made a decision, but Minister Bozovic refused." It seems that Mr. Kwon's side intended to delay the execution of the extradition to the U.S. by pointing out that Minister Bozovic's decision was not delivered, buying time to overturn the decision.

However, shortly after the decision was delivered to Mr. Kwon's side, the two lawyers presented new arguments and took additional action. In a second statement issued on the same day, they took issue with the timing of the delivery of Minister Bozovic's decision. Lawyer Radulovic criticized, "Delivering the decision on a Friday, after office hours, is a procedural hindrance aimed at neutralizing the right to defense."

The lawyers reiterated that "the client's basic human rights have been violated" and stated that they have requested a suspension of execution and interim measures from the Constitutional Court of Montenegro and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), respectively.

Despite such desperate responses from Mr. Kwon's side, it seems difficult to overturn Minister Bozovic's decision, according to local general opinion. Previously, Mr. Kwon's side filed a constitutional complaint after the Montenegro Supreme Court nullified a lower court's decision to extradite him to Korea and transferred the decision-making authority regarding extradition to the Minister of Justice, but it was not accepted. Given that the Constitutional Court has already dismissed Mr. Kwon's constitutional complaint, it is expected that the likelihood of accepting a new suspension request is low. The European Court of Human Rights also lacks binding power, making it unlikely to substantially halt the extradition process for Mr. Kwon.

Mr. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro on March 23 last year after evading the law following the Terra·Luna crash in 2022. Since then, Korea and the United States have been competing to secure his custody. Mr. Kwon's side hopes to go to Korea, fearing that if he goes to the U.S., where sentences for economic crimes are high, he could face a punishment close to life imprisonment. In the U.S., sentences are cumulative for each crime, making it possible to be sentenced to over 100 years in prison, whereas in Korea, the maximum sentence for economic criminals is about 40 years, which is lower than in the U.S.

Song Jong-hyun, Reporter scream@hankyung.com

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