It will not be easy to arrest Do Kwon in Singapore without an extradition treaty

South Korea issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon and a 5 other Terralabs employees yesterday. That does not mean that he is going to be arrested anytime soon.

Do Kwon was in Singapore, not South Korea, yesterday. Singapore only has an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, Germany, USA, and ~40 Commonwealth countries. It does not have an extradition treaty with South Korea.

What can South Korea do?

Invalidate passport: South Korea has already invalidated (started the process) Do Kwon's passport. He has 14 days after this is done to return to South Korea. This either has to be done voluntarily (not happening) or Singapore has to deport him. There is a chance that Singapore will overlook the fact that he does not have a valid passport.

Interpol Red Notice: South Korea is currently working with prosecutors to issue an Interpol Red Notice. South Korea wants Interpol to then extradite Do Kwon, but that is unlikely to happen. The exception is that with an Interpol Red Notice he would likely be detained if he attempts to go through a border checkpoint.

Unless Do Kwon has left Singapore in the last ~30 hours, it is basically up to Singapore to decide what to do with him. South Korea has made it easy for them to send him back to South Korea without an extradition treaty by invalidating his passport, but who knows how this saga will play out.