Do Kwon faces escalating criticism for vague comments on whereabouts

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Finance

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 17:22

Cryptocurrency

Do Kwon faces escalating criticism for vague comments on whereabouts

Posted : 2022-09-18 14:31

Updated : 2022-09-19 14:48

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon / Courtesy of Kwon's LinkedIn page

By Lee Min-hyung

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is drawing escalating criticism for making vague comments on his whereabouts without responding to a warrant prosecutors filed for his arrest.

"I am not 'on the run' or anything similar ― for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don't have anything to hide," he said on his Twitter, Sunday.

The remarks came in response to Singapore Police Force's latest announcement that Kwon is not residing in the country. He was known to be in the city-state after having a face-to-face interview with crypto media outlet, Coinage, at his office there last month.

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At that time, he made it clear that he would cooperate with investigations by any authority amid mounting criticism after the stablecoin Terra and sister token Luna collapsed in May.
Luna was one of the most promising cryptocurrencies until early this year when its value soared to the world's seventh highest. But its price plunged to a near-zero level in only about a week after the Terra stablecoin failed to defend its intended $1 peg.

But even after prosecutors in Korea filed a warrant seeking his arrest last week on charges of violating the local capital market law, Kwon has not made any specific remarks on when he intends to return to his home country, only saying that the company is "in the process of defending itself in multiple jurisdictions."

"We have held ourselves to an extremely high bar of integrity, and look forward to clarifying the truth over the next few months," he said.

The remark, however, contrasts with his earlier comment that he will be in touch with investigators if they charge him.

The prosecution requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invalidate his passport. If the ministry accepts the request, Kwon has to return home 14 days after the decision. The Singapore policy authority also shared its plan to assist its Korean counterpart within its international obligations.

But it remains unclear whether the ill-fated Luna founder will reply to the Korean investigators' call in a timely manner, at a time when his whereabouts are not known despite his comments reiterating the firm's innocence in the latest cryptocurrency debacle.

Kwon has said that the now-collapsed Terra stablecoin failed, but the bet, in itself, was not a fraud.

mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr