South Korea sets trail date for Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin

• The trial for Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-seung will begin in Seoul on 26 May.
• Local authorities have claimed that Shin’s involvement in the suspected fraud was bigger than that of Do Kwon.

According to a local news report, the first trial for Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-seung and seven other accomplices will be held in the Seoul Southern District Court on 26 May.

The individuals were accused of fraud in connection with the collapse of the $40 billion Terra Luna stablecoin project that occurred in May 2022.

The Terra co-founder has gathered a group of 30 solicitors to represent him in court.

Shin and nine other individuals were indicted by local prosecutors last month, although no one was actually detained.

The individuals were charged with fraud by the court. Although no court date has been scheduled, two others are charged with bribery in connection with the case.

Shin’s involvement bigger than Kwon’s, claim authorities

In a press conference held last month, Dan Sung-han, the director of the financial crime unit of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, claimed that Shin’s involvement in the suspected financial fraud was bigger than that of Terraform CEO Do Kwon.

Shin is charged with defrauding investors for marketing the Terra stablecoin as a prospective payment method while being aware that such services were illegal, according to the prosecution.

Despite two efforts, the prosecutors were unable to persuade the local court to grant a warrant for Shin’s arrest.

Shin’s attorneys said that such claims are untrue and that at the time of Terra’s inception, banking authorities did not take a firm stance on the question of cryptocurrency as viable payment method.

“I’m just trying to do a breakout business, and I’m going to clear up the prosecution’s misunderstanding at trial,” Shin said.

It was in 2018 that shin, along with Kwon Do-hyeong, founded Terraform Labs. Kwon is currently lodged in a Montenegro prison. Last month, he was arrested in the country for allegedly using falsified travel credentials.

Shin Hyun-seung comes from a well-connected family; his grandfather Shin Jik-soo was a former minister of justice of Korea, and his uncle Hong Seok-hyun was the chairman of JoongAng Holdings, one of the country’s largest media groups.