South Korean authorities ask Interpol to issue 'Red Notice' for Do Kwon: Report

Published at: Sept. 19, 2022

South Korean prosecutors have reportedly requested Interpol intervene in their case against Terra co-founder Do Kwon by issuing a 'Red Notice' — suggesting global law enforcement agencies may attempt to find and detain him.

According to a Monday report from the Financial Times, the Seoul Southern District prosecutors’ office said it had “begun the procedure” to place Kwon on Interpol’s Red Notice list following steps to revoke the Terra co-founder’s passport while he was in Singapore. Interpol’s website states that a Red Notice requested authorities “locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” but the agency cannot compel local law enforcement to arrest the subject of such a notice.

“We are doing our best to locate and arrest [Kwon],” a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office reportedly said. “He is clearly on the run as his company’s key finance people also left for the same country during that time.”

Kwon has continued to be active on social media amid potential arrest and prosecution. Cointelegraph reported on Sunday that the Terra co-founder claimed he was “not ‘on the run’ or anything similar” but did not reveal his location — his Twitter account still showed him in Singapore at the time of publication. Reuters reported on Saturday that authorities in Singapore said Kwon was no longer in the country, having relocated there from South Korea in April.

Dear CT - I will tell you what i am doing and where i am if: 1) we are friends2) we have plans to meet3) we are involved in a gps based web3 game Otherwise you have no business knowing my gps coordinates

— Do Kwon (@stablekwon) September 17, 2022

The ongoing saga with Kwon and Terra started in May when the project’s algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD Classic (USTC) — originally TerraUSD (UST) — depegged from the U.S. dollar and dropped almost to zero within weeks. The price of Terra (LUNA) — now Terra Classic (LUNC) — also crashed amid liquidity issues reported at platforms including Celsius.

Kwon, certain Terra employees, and the company were the target of an investigation by South Korean financial authorities, who reportedly raided the offices of crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax in July. On Sept. 14, a South Korean court reportedly issued a warrant for Kwon’s arrest as well as five individuals connected to Terra for allegedly violating capital markets laws. However, South Korea has no extradition agreement with Singapore.

According to Interpol, there are currently 7,151 individuals publicly named on the agency’s Red Notice list out of 69,270. At the time of publication, Kwon was not among them and the only South Korean national was 59-year-old Lee Changhwan, wanted by Indian authorities.