South Korea Gains Custody of Han Chang-joon in Terra Crypto Collapse

• Terraform Labs CFO Han Chang-joon was extradited to South Korea.
• Co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition status remains uncertain.
• Terra’s $60 billion collapse led to legal troubles and international attention.

Terraform Labs’ financial officer Han Chang-joon has been extradited to South Korea after being arrested in Montenegro. Han, along with the co-founder of the company, Do Kwon, was detained in South Korea after an unsuccessful escape attempt on a private jet in March 2023, thus ending an international six-month search.

According to official police reports, the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice decided to extradite Han. In addition to this, South Korean authorities plan to prosecute, launching criminal proceedings over several counts of financial fraud that could lead to life imprisonment in South Korea.

Following Han’s extradition, Do Kwon’s extradition appeal outcome remains undisclosed. Kwon has been asked to be extradited to both the U.S. and South Korea on charges related to the $60 billion collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin Terra in 2022.

The Terra saga started in 2018 when Do Kwon and Daniel Shin established Terraform Labs. However, this turned awry in May 2022 when Terra de-pegged from the dollar and then crashed. It resulted in numerous problems in industries like the collapse of the Three Arrows and FTX.

In September 2022, a court in Korea issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and five other individuals accused of violating Korean capital markets law. Soon after, an Interpol red notice for Kwon’s arrest was issued.

June brought another significant development, as a Montenegrin court found Kwon guilty of using forged passports. Despite his appeal, the verdict remained upheld, concluding in November. The extradition of Han Chang-joon marks the latest development in the Terra saga that has captivated the cryptocurrency world since its inception.