The Montenegro Court of Appeals announced on its website on the 20th (local time) that it has decided to dismiss Kwon’s defense (Kim & Chang law firm) and repatriate him to Korea. As the Court of Appeals confirmed the original trial, the Montenegro court’s judicial process regarding Kwon’s extradition has ended. The Montenegro Ministry of Justice is expected to officially notify the Korean Ministry of Justice of Kwon’s repatriation to Korea soon and discuss the specific extradition schedule and procedures. Kwon’s lawyers are the largest law firm in Korea and are known to have a huge impact on the current political economy, and the role of the lawyers is believed to be major.
“The original trial decided to extradite Kwon to Korea based on the fact that Korea’s request for extradition arrived before the U.S.,” the appeals court said. “This applies to criminal justice cooperation laws that apply to cases where several countries have requested extradition of the same person.” Representative Kwon left for Singapore in April 2022, just before the collapse of Terra and Luna, and lived on the run. Meanwhile, he was arrested on March 23 last year at a local airport in Montenegro while trying to board a private jet to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a fake Costa Rica passport. Legal circles believe that Kwon, who is serving a four-month prison sentence for using a fake passport, will expire on the 23rd or 24th, so he will be on a flight to Korea on the 23rd. Representative Kwon’s Montenegro legal representative Goran Rodic told the AP, “According to the law, Montenegro and the Korean Ministry of Justice will decide the time, place, and conditions of handover with the relevant police authorities.” I am very curious about his legal procedures and sentences after his extradition to Korea, and attention is being paid to what kind of measures Korea will take on Kwon Do-hyung and how his handling of hidden property and compensation for victims will be made.
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
