Do Kwon Could Face Second Trial in Korea After 15-Year US Sentence

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon faces the possibility of an additional trial and lengthy prison term in South Korea following his 15-year sentence from a Manhattan federal court for orchestrating the $40 billion TerraUSD collapse.

According to The Korea Times, the 34-year-old Korean national could apply to be transferred to his home country after serving half his US term, where prosecutors are seeking a sentence exceeding 30 years for violations of capital markets laws.

US District Judge Paul Engelmayer delivered the sentence last week, rejecting both the prosecution’s 12-year recommendation and the defense’s five-year request.

“In the history of federal prosecutions, there are few frauds that have caused as much harm as you have,” Engelmayer told Kwon directly.

Korean Authorities Prepare Separate Prosecution

South Korean prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Kwon in September 2022 through the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office joint financial crimes unit.

A senior prosecutor told the local report that prosecuting Kwon domestically would serve local victims most effectively, as approximately 200,000 Korean investors have suffered losses totaling roughly 300 billion won ($204 million).

Ten alleged accomplices have faced trial in Korea for nearly three years while authorities awaited Kwon’s potential return.

The separate Korean charges center on violations of the Capital Markets Act stemming from the same conduct underlying his US conviction.

However, Korean prosecutors maintain they can pursue independent punishment regardless of the American proceedings.

Kwon initially sought extradition to Korea rather than to the United States after his March 2023 arrest in Montenegro on charges of possessing forged documents.

He spent nearly two years detained there before transfer to America in December 2024, with his defense team describing the conditions as “brutal.”

Terra Collapse Mechanics and Fraudulent Claims

Between 2018 and 2022, Kwon admitted to knowingly participating in schemes to defraud Terraform Labs’ crypto purchasers.

The Singapore-based firm issued the TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token, Luna, claiming that Terra maintained a one-to-one dollar peg through its protocol design.

When Terra fell below $1 in May 2021, Kwon publicly stated the protocol had restored its value autonomously.

US prosecutors later discovered that an investment firm contracted by Terraform Labs had secretly purchased Terra to artificially prop up its price, with Jump Trading’s role deliberately concealed from investors.

Both tokens plunged again in May 2022, wiping out tens of billions in investor value and triggering cascading failures across cryptocurrency markets.

Federal prosecutors specifically cited the collapse’s contribution to Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX implosion as evidence of broader systemic damage beyond Terra’s immediate losses.

Kwon was convicted on nine counts, including fraud and money laundering, and Judge Engelmayer ordered the forfeiture of $19 million in illicit gains.

The initial potential sentence under US guidelines was 130 years, but the August plea agreement capped prosecutorial recommendations at 12 years.

Sentencing Disparities and Transfer Mechanics

Judge Engelmayer called the 12-year recommendation “unreasonable” while dismissing the five-year request as “implausible,” ultimately imposing 15 years as “the least I can impose.”

The defense argued that dual prosecution should be factored into sentencing calculations, particularly given the overlap in allegations across jurisdictions.

The court rejected this reasoning, with Engelmayer stating that one court cannot base rulings on speculation about another court’s decisions.

US prosecutors indicated they would not oppose a transfer request under the International Prisoner Transfer Program after Kwon serves half his sentence, leaving the pathway to Korean prosecution open.

The contrasting treatment compared to Bankman-Fried’s 25-year sentence has raised questions about consistency, as Kwon’s guilty plea significantly reduced exposure despite Terra’s larger loss.

Legal experts note that federal guidelines for fraud at Terra’s scale typically suggest advisory ranges approaching life imprisonment before statutory caps.

Kwon will receive credit for time served in US custody, though questions remain about whether his 21-month detention in Montenegro will count toward his American term.

The sentencing comes amid escalating crypto-related criminal activity worldwide.

Spanish and Danish authorities recently arrested nine suspects in a violent kidnapping and murder targeting a victim’s crypto holdings.

Just last month, South Australia Police also filed 800 charges against 55 individuals in a massive crypto-linked crime ring.