Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon could face a separate criminal trial in South Korea despite receiving a 15-year prison sentence in the United States.
South Korea prosecutors said a domestic conviction could add decades to Kwon’s prison time under local financial laws.
Kwon was sentenced last week in the US for his role in the 2022 collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which wiped out roughly $40 billion in value.
As part of his US plea deal, Kwon may apply to the International Prisoner Transfer Program after serving half of his sentence.
American prosecutors have agreed not to oppose a transfer request to South Korea.
If returned, Kwon would face charges including violations of South Korea’s Capital Markets Act.
Prosecutors said those charges alone could carry a sentence exceeding 30 years.
“A guilty verdict in Korea could lead to a sentence of more than 30 years,” a senior prosecutor said.
The prosecutor added that domestic prosecution would better support compensation efforts for Korean victims.
South Korea issued an arrest warrant for Kwon in September 2022 through the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.
Authorities estimate around 200,000 South Korea investors suffered losses totalling about $204 million.
Kwon co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs, which created the TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token LUNA.
The project claimed TerraUSD would maintain its peg through an algorithmic mechanism.
That system collapsed in May 2022, triggering widespread market contagion across the crypto sector.
US prosecutors later said Terraform Labs secretly supported Terra’s (CRYPTO:LUNA) price through outside purchases.
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 while travelling with a forged passport.
After a prolonged extradition battle, he was sent to the US in December.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer convicted Kwon on nine counts including fraud and money laundering.
The court ordered forfeiture of $19 million and cited 315 victim impact statements.
Victims described bankruptcies, health crises and suicides following the collapse.
“In Korea, many victims feel punishment in the US may be more meaningful than a domestic outcome,” David Sehyeon Baek said.
Baek said South Korea’s legal system is often seen as lenient on large financial crimes.
“When crimes are framed as business failures, the message is tolerance, not accountability,” Baek said.
He added that Kwon understood the risks and accepted the potential harm.
“People are not guinea pigs,” Baek said.
At the time of reporting, Terra price was $0.1314.