A last-minute variable arose in the repatriation of Terraform Labs CEO Kwon Do-hyung, who was identified as the main culprit of the Terra/Luna collapse, to Korea. This is because Montenegro prosecutors are objecting to the local court’s decision to extradite Mr. Kwon.
Montenegro's Supreme Prosecutor's Office announced in a statement posted on its official website on the 21st (local time) that it had requested the Supreme Court to determine the legality of the procedural issues of the Court of Appeal and the High Court.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office claimed, "The court proceeded with the extradition process for Mr. Kwon in a summary manner rather than a regular procedure, contrary to the law," and "It exceeded its authority and made a decision on the extradition bureau, which is the sole authority of the Minister of Justice." At the same time, he said, "The appeal court did not even hear the opinion of the prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office in the appeal trial," and added, "We ask the Supreme Court to judge the legality and make a ruling to change the court's decision."
Initially, the Podgorica High Court in Montenegro decided to extradite Kwon to the United States on the 21st of last month. However, in a trial held following an appeal from Mr. Kwon's side, the Montenegrin Court of Appeals sent the case back to the Podgorica High Court on the 5th of this month with the intention of re-determining the extradition country on the basis that Korea's request for extradition was faster than that of the United States. . On the 7th, the High Court overturned the previous judgment and decided to repatriate Mr. Kwon to Korea. The appeals court confirmed this judgment on the 20th.
If the Montenegro Supreme Court accepts the Supreme Prosecutor's Office's objection, the authority to decide whether to extradite Mr. Kwon will be vested in the Minister of Justice.
Some say that because the Montenegrin government has so far supported Mr. Kwon's move to the United States, it attempted to overturn the decision to extradite Mr. Kwon to Korea at the last minute through the prosecution's objection. Montenegrin Minister of Justice Andrej Milovic has been supporting Kwon's move to the United States, saying in a local broadcast interview in November last year, "The United States is our most important foreign policy partner."
Mr. Kwon's repatriation schedule, which was expected to be as early as this weekend, has fallen into the fog. Mr. Kwon, who was sentenced to four months in prison in Montenegro on charges of using a fake passport, ends on the 23rd.