According to the Seoul Southern District Court findings, the Chief Executive Officer of Kernel Labs, Kim Hyun-Joong (1), was one of the individuals who profited the most from Terra and engaged in sales speculation.
Reports from the officials indicate that Kim has earned at least 79 billion won, equivalent to $ 61 million, through illicit means.
Following the failure of Terra's UST and LUNA coins, South Korean authorities have been investigating the matter and closely examining the firms whose operations were connected to Terra.
The most recent step is the immobilization of cash worth up to $92 million (120 billion won) belonging to previous and current CEOs of an affiliate company of Terraform Labs called Kernel Labs.
According to a report (2) from The Korea Economic Daily, the Seoul Southern District Court decided to seize the property of seven individuals involved in making a profit from the sale of pre-issued LUNA coins.
Per the Seoul Southern District Court findings, the Chief Executive Officer of Kernel Labs, Kim Hyun-Joong, was one of the individuals who profited the most from Terra and engaged in sales speculation.
Claims from the authorities indicate that Kim has made at least 79 billion won, equivalent to $61 million, through illicit means.
Time Line of Kim Hyun-Joong's Movements
During the previous year, he invested in a few properties located in South Korea. In November, he paid as much as 35 billion won ($27 million) to purchase a property in Gangnam-gu, the most costly district in Seoul.
In addition, he purchased an apartment in the Seongdong-gu neighborhood in June for around 7 million dollars and 9 billion won. Amid the investigation, he was not allowed to leave the country.
While Kim Hyun-Joong is in South Korea, police are searching for Do Kwon, the notorious founder and CEO of Terraform Labs. This search takes place when Kim Hyun-Joong is in South Korea. He has been gone from Singapore for the past few months.
In September, the government of South Korea decided that Do Kwon's passport should no longer be valid and revoked it. After that, Interpol issued a "Red Notice," stating that Kwon and his five associates were wanted by law enforcement agencies worldwide.
According to the most recent sources, authorities in South Korea think that Terra's former CEO is hiding out in Serbia under the guise of being a crypto fugitive.
Additionally, he expressed interest in working with Serbia officials. However, because Serbia was not included in the bilateral extradition agreement, it is highly improbable that South Korea could legitimately extradite Do Kwon from Serbia. The pact involved 31 countries.
What to Expect Next?
Do Kwon has stated that he is not on the run and is willing to communicate with the police, although the Ministry of Justice of South Korea continues to request forensic help from the government of Serbia.
It should be noted that the specific reason why TerraUSD and LUNA failed to recover is still unknown. As a consequence of this, it isn't easy to estimate how long the inquiry will take.
The cryptocurrency market has experienced the most widespread contagion due to the crash in 2022. Many people were involved, and the authorities in South Korea are doing their best to discover the causes behind what happened and punish those responsibly.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the sibling trading site Alameda Research, is also the subject of an investigation. Prosecutors in the United States think that the crash of the FTX that occurred in November was intertwined with the fall of Terra.
