Montenegro's Court of Appeal has refused to appeal the decision to extradite Do Kwon to South Korea.
Decision to extradite Do Kwon to Korea
In its ruling, the Court affirmed the decision to deport Kwon to face criminal charges in Korea. These charges relate to his role in the collapse of the UST currency. This has caused investors globally to lose more than 40 billion USD.
The court added that its decision is final and cannot be appealed. The announcement did not provide a specific timetable for extradition.
This decision marks an important development in this legal battle. The extradition process has attracted significant attention over the past year. Both the United States and South Korea sought custody due to the high-profile nature of the case.
Why Korea?
A Montenegrin high court initially decided to extradite Kwon to the United States. However, the Court of Appeals overturned this decision and pointed to procedural violations in the country's criminal justice system.
The Court of Appeal therefore ordered a retrial at the Podgorica High Court.
In the next trial, the Podgorica High Court decided that Kwon should be extradited to South Korea. Because their extradition request was made before the United States.
Montenegro's Court of Appeal upheld this decision and stated:
“The Court of Appeals judgment assessed that the trial court correctly determined that Korea's request was prior to the United States' request.”
Last month, the European country deported Terraform Labs Chief Financial Officer Han Chang-Joon to South Korea to face criminal charges. Chang-Joon and Kwon were arrested in Montenegro in 2023 for traveling with fake official documents.