While the extradition of Do Kwon has not yet been decided in Montenegro, the spouse of Terraform Labs founder, Ms. Lee scored a major legal victory against the South Korean state. The court ruled that certain real estate shares and officetel subscription rights, previously seized under the name of Ms. Lee should not have been subject to state seizure, as local news outlet Naver reported exclusively today.
Do Kwon’s Spouse Wins Big
Presiding Judge Joo Chae-kwang of the 12th Civil Division delivered the verdict on June 19, determining that these assets were Ms. Lee’s separate property, acquired independently during her marriage. The assets in question include a multi-use apartment in Seongsu-dong and Officetel subscription rights in Nonhyeon-dong, collectively valued at approximately KRW 233.3 billion (approximately $183 million).
The court stressed that the funds used for these investments came from Ms Lee’s earnings and investments in cryptocurrencies, including significant transactions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. These were managed through her personal wallets, with no clear evidence of Do Kwon’s control over these assets.
“The state does not permit the seizure of the real estate located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and the officetel subscription rights and subscription price refund claims located in Nonhyeon-dong based on the court’s decision to preserve collection against Kwon,” the ruling stated. “The seizure and enforcement thereof stays until this decision is final.”
This ruling is particularly notable as it challenges the state’s previous assumption that the assets were acquired by Do Kwon and merely registered under Ms. Lee’s name to potentially conceal assets. “If, as the state assumes, Mr. Kwon acquired the shares of this real estate in his wife’s name in order to conceal criminal proceeds, it is difficult to understand why he acquired only a 10% stake in Ms. Lee’s name, not the entire stake or at least a 50% stake,” the court elaborated.
Furthermore, the court rejected the state’s claims that the crypto assets used for these purchases were owned by Do Kwon. “The burden of proof regarding the fact that the virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, which can be seen as the ultimate source of the funds for acquiring the real estate stake, are owned by Kwon, it is difficult to conclude that the owner of the virtual assets or the source of the funds for acquiring them is Kwon,” the court concluded.
This ruling comes amidst ongoing legal proceedings involving Do Kwon himself, who is currently detained in Montenegro pending decisions regarding extradition to either the United States or South Korea. As reported by , the Supreme Court of Montenegro overturned the extradition of Do Kwon to South Korea at the beginning of April and referred the case back to the High Court in Podgorica.
The South Korean state has filed an appeal against this ruling on July 1st, indicating that the legal debates surrounding the assets linked to the Do Kwon family are set to continue.
At press time, Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) traded at $0.00007253.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
