US Court to Begin Criminal Trial of Kwon Do-hyung Over Terra Crash in January Next Year

The criminal trial in the United States of Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the cryptocurrency 'Terra·Luna' crash incident, will officially begin in January next year.

On the 8th (local time), Judge Paul Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York announced at the pretrial conference for Kwon's case that the main trial would commence on January 26 next year. Additionally, before the main trial, another pretrial conference will be held on March 6 to proceed with the discovery process. Kwon is facing a total of nine charges, including recently added conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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This day marked Kwon's second appearance in a U.S. court. Having arrived in the U.S. on the 31st of last month, Kwon appeared at the Southern District of New York court on the 2nd of this month and pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him. On the same day, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Kwon's court appearance and stated that the maximum sentence for the charges he faces could be up to 130 years.

When asked by reporters, "Do you still maintain your innocence?" and "How will you compensate the victims in Korea?" Kwon did not respond and left the courtroom with his escort. He is currently detained at the Brooklyn Federal Detention Center in New York. He is accused of deceiving investors regarding the blockchain technology of TerraUSD (UST), a cryptocurrency issued by Terraform Labs, which he founded.

Separately from the criminal trial, he has already lost a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Subsequently, Kwon agreed to pay $4.47 billion (approximately 6.5 trillion KRW) in disgorgement and fines to the SEC. However, his company later filed for bankruptcy.

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