Binance Providing ‘Requested Assistance’ in South Korea’s Do Kwon Case

South Korean authorities are moving to cut off Do Kwon’s access to cryptocurrencies purportedly held by Binance on his behalf

article-image

Grey82/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Prosecutors in South Korea are continuing their crackdown on crypto fugitive Do Kwon.

In their latest move, the country’s authorities have reportedly asked Binance officials to step in to prevent Kwon from withdrawing any of his crypto assets purportedly kept on the crypto exchange. 

KBS News reported Friday that one accounting of former Terraform Labs chief executive’s criminal proceeds adds up to 91.4 billion won ($69 million). 

South Korean authorities told the publication that there were no records of property owned by Kwon in the country. But the thinking of a number of industry participants, as well as local officials, is that Kwon converted a big chunk of his Korea real estate holdings to bitcoin and transferred it to a foreign crypto exchange. 

Binance told Blockworks that it responded to the prosecutors’ request, adding that the exchange cannot comment on the ongoing investigation.

“We provided Korean [law enforcement] authorities with the requested assistance,” the spokesperson said.

KBS separately reported that Terra executives took control of 414.5 billion won ($314 million) in criminal proceeds. 

Prosecutors then reportedly attempted to put a hold on asset owned by those same executives, including via efforts to foreclose Seoul-based apartments owned by former Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, as well as land in two other cities, plus related vehicles. 

Shin Hyun-Seung, who is said to have cut ties with Do Kwon in 2020, was reportedly interrogated recently by South Korean prosecutors. But they have failed to convince courts to issue an arrest warrant for him, with a judge saying it’s less likely that Shin would run off or hide evidence.

Freezing assets generally is a move to block those accused of financial crimes from selling or improperly shuffling their wealth around before or during a court proceeding.  

Do Kwon and his business associate Hon Chang-soon were arrested in Montenegro last month while attempting to fly to Dubai. 

Both South Korea and the US have made official extradition requests to Montenegro, but that process isn’t expected to play out any time soon. Him, as well as at least one associate, are currently being investigated for possession of false documents. 

Marko Kovac, Montenegro’s justice minister, has said South Korean counterparts are asking for the extradition of both Kwon and Kim, as previously reported by Blockworks. US officials, meanwhile, are said to be only after Kwon.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

For just $54, you, too, could send a memecoin 500% higher

article-image

Memecoins, tech, and inflation have dominated the first half of the year

article-image

As the Trump administration continues to test Fed independence, markets are beginning to react

article-image

An Aave interest rate shock prompted over 475,000 validators to exit and pushed stETH into a prolonged depeg

article-image

While Roman Storm’s team is set to present its case, it’s not yet clear if the Tornado Cash founder will testify

article-image

A wireless network inspired by lost drones is now helping telco carriers reach your phone indoors