Terraform Labs Calls S. Korean Authorities’ Arrest Warrant for Do Kwon Overreach: Report

Terraform Labs said South Korean prosecutors overextended their authority in seeking a warrant for the arrest of CEO Do Kwon, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing a statement sent by Terraform.

A Terraform spokesperson claimed that its luna cryptocurrency wasn’t a security, meaning it wasn’t covered by South Korea’s capital markets law.

“We believe that this case has become highly politicized, and that the actions of the Korean prosecutors demonstrate unfairness and a failure to uphold basic rights guaranteed under Korean law,” the spokesman said.

Luna and its associated algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD collapsed in value in May, causing thousands of investors to lose billions of dollars.

Earlier this week, Interpol reportedly issued an international arrest request known as a red notice for Kwon. The spokesman who wrote to the Wall Street Journal declined to identify Kwon's location, citing "ongoing physical security risks to him and his family" and noting there have been attempts to break into his residences in South Korea and Singapore.

Kwon has yet to issue a statement via Twitter, but in prior tweets he has maintained that Terraform Labs is defending itself in multiple jurisdictions.

Prosecutors in South Korea have previously said that Kwon was "obviously on the run" and not cooperating with investigators.

UPDATE (Sept. 28, 2022 20:30 UTC): Added statements from Terraform spokesperson about Kwon's location.