Do Kwon
Terraform Labs Founder & CEO Do Kwon

South Korean Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Terraform Labs Founder Do Kwon

  • Per local news outlet Chosun Ilbo, the South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon, Terraform labs founding member Nicholas Platias, and one of its employees Han Mo 
  • Per the report, the warrants have been issued under the violation of the Capital Markets Act

Per a local news outlet Chosun Ilbo, the South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, Nicholas Platias, a founding member of Terraform Labs, and Han Mo, an employee working for Terraform Labs. 

What Happened? 

Per Chosun Ilbo’s coverage, the warrants were issued by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office’s Financial and Securities Crime Unit under the leadership of Director Dan Seong-Han, the 1st Team Team Leader Lee Seung-Hak. 

The report further adds that the warrants have been issued in violation of the Capital Markets Act. The report further outlines how the prosecutors believe that Terra Luna and its stablecoin UST are categorized as “investment contract securities” under the Capital Market Act. 

The Terra luna crash of May 2022 was considered one of the most intense cryptocurrency crashes that wiped off billions worth of funds from the digital cryptocurrency market. The report further adds that Do Kwon along with Platias and Mo are reportedly residing in Singapore. 

In addition to this, the report also states that the warrants issued are valid for a period of one year and that the prosecutors are expecting to work with Interpol to arrest Do Kwon and others. 

Luna and its algorithmic stablecoin USD were once considered some of the top cryptocurrencies to invest in and explore. However, in May 2022, the Luna and its stablecoin USD plummeted to new lows, crashing nearly 100% in value. The fall of these two central cryptos spurred an array of intense legal actions which were taken against Do Kwon. 

Soon after the Terra Luna crash, Terraform founder Do Kwon announced new plans to rejuvenate the Luna ecosystem. With the community’s approval, the Luna blockchain was forked to create a division which later gave birth to a new Luna token. The Luna ecosystem had also created a provision for its former crashed token which would be addressed as Luna Classic. 

The cryptocurrency since its crash in May has gained a bit of its former momentum back, trading at $2.65, down 38.14% in the last 24 hours. Luna Classic has also slightly gained its strength back after welcoming a V22 upgrade, after which the token has been trading for $0.0002841.