Supreme Court Upholds Partial Victory for Kwon Do-hyung's Wife in Asset Seizure Case
The Supreme Court of South Korea has confirmed a lower court's ruling that partially favors the wife of Kwon Do-hyung (34), the CEO of Terraform Labs, who is a central figure in the collapse of the virtual currencies Terra and Luna. The ruling, issued on May 8, 2025, stems from a lawsuit filed by Kwon's wife, Lee Mo, against the government regarding the seizure of her real estate shares and officetel pre-sale rights.
The Terra-Luna incident refers to the dramatic drop in value of the cryptocurrencies Terra and Luna, which Kwon had claimed were 'safe,' plummeting to nearly zero in May 2022, resulting in significant losses for investors. The prosecution sought asset seizure based on the Anti-Asset Forfeiture Act, citing violations of capital market laws against Kwon, and the court approved the seizure of approximately 233.3 billion won. This included the real estate shares and pre-sale rights held in Lee's name.
Following this decision, the government registered a provisional seizure on the couple's jointly purchased apartment, Galleria Foret, located in Seongsu-dong, which they acquired for 4.2 billion won in March 2021, with Lee holding 10% and Kwon 90% of the ownership.
In September 2023, Lee filed a lawsuit claiming that the shares of the apartment and the pre-sale rights for an officetel valued at approximately 1.86 billion won were purchased with her own funds. In June 2024, the first trial ruled in her favor, stating that since the acquisitions occurred during the couple's marriage (they married in 2020), they were presumed to be her separate property, thus the seizure should not apply.
However, in December 2024, the second trial rejected her claim to the apartment shares but upheld her ownership of the officetel pre-sale rights, stating that the apartment shares were effectively purchased with Kwon's funds and were thus considered his property.
The Supreme Court agreed with the second trial's assessment, dismissing the case without further hearings, thereby upholding the lower court's decision.
