Kwon Do-hyung's Side: "US Has No Opportunity or Authority to Change 'Korea Extradition' Decision"

Local Daily "If No Appeal on the Right Side by the 11th, Judgment Becomes Final"

Regarding the United States' stance on continuing to push for the extradition of Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the 'Terra·Luna' incident, Kwon's side dismissed this, stating that the U.S. has neither the opportunity nor the authority to change the ruling.

Goran Lodi? and Mariya Radulovi?, Kwon's local legal representatives in Montenegro, stated in a statement sent to the local daily Vijesti on the 9th (local time), "According to the laws governing criminal extradition procedures, neither the U.S. nor South Korea has the opportunity or authority to appeal the decision of the High Court."

They added, "Both the European Convention on Extradition and the extradition agreement between Montenegro and the United States stipulate that the extradition process must proceed according to domestic law (the Criminal Justice Cooperation Act)."

On the 7th, when the Podgorica High Court in Montenegro overturned the decision to extradite Kwon to the U.S. and decided to send him to South Korea instead, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement the same day saying, "The United States continues to pursue the extradition of Kwon Do-hyung in accordance with relevant international and bilateral agreements and Montenegrin law."

For the U.S. to overturn the High Court's ruling and enforce extradition to its own country, it would need to appeal; however, Kwon's legal team maintains that the U.S. has no such opportunity or authority. In other words, no other country can interfere with Montenegro's judicial process.

If Kwon's side is correct, the only party entitled to appeal the High Court's decision to send him to South Korea is Kwon's own legal counsel. Given that Kwon's team has fiercely fought legal battles to avoid extradition to the U.S., where a harsher sentence is expected compared to South Korea, the likelihood of an appeal is slim.

Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Vijesti also reported that the Montenegrin prosecution has no authority to appeal. The Podgorica High Prosecutor's Office previously filed an appeal against the High Court's decision to extradite Kwon to the U.S., but the appellate court dismissed it, stating, "The prosecution has no authority to appeal," according to the media outlet.

Vijesti reported, "The High Court's decision was made on Thursday (7th), and the deadline for Kwon Do-hyung's lawyers to appeal ends on Monday (11th). If no appeal is filed, the decision will become final, and Kwon Do-hyung could be immediately extradited to South Korea after this deadline."

The outlet also added that Kwon's sentence is set to expire on the 23rd.

Kwon's eight-month detention period for extradition ended on the 15th of last month, and he is currently serving the remaining 37 days of a four-month sentence for a forged passport case.

The Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring how the change of Kwon's extradition destination from the U.S. to South Korea might affect diplomatic relations with the United States.

Miodrag Lekic, a former Montenegrin parliamentarian and diplomat, said in an interview with Vijesti that both the U.S. and South Korea are great allies of Montenegro, and he expects the diplomatic repercussions of this decision to be minimal.

He emphasized, "I believe that all facts related to Kwon Do-hyung should be revealed in South Korea. Everything about how he came to Montenegro, what goals he had, and what he did here must be disclosed. If it is confirmed that he violated Montenegro's legal norms, he should be judged here."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.