Korean American professor Morse Tan, second from left, visits a polling station in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where early voting for the June 3 local elections was underway, Wednesday. Yonhap
Police on Monday applied to the Ministry of Justice for an exit ban on Morse Tan, a Korean American professor and former U.S. ambassador at large for global criminal justice under the first Trump administration, amid an ongoing investigation into defamation charges tied to false claims he made about President Lee Jae Myung.
Tan, also known by his Korean name Dan Hyun-myung, returned to Korea on Thursday, citing intentions to personally monitor and verify the June 3 local elections for irregularities.
Officers traveled to Incheon International Airport on the day of his arrival, formally notifying him to appear for questioning the following day. Tan declined to comply, submitting a written statement explaining his rejection of the summons and filing a separate request to have the assigned investigating officers replaced.
Police determined that his refusal to cooperate, combined with the circumstances of his visit, indicated a credible risk that he might attempt to leave the country before the investigation concludes.
Park Jeong-bo, head of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, addressed the matter at a regular press briefing Monday, stating that authorities would carry out "the necessary investigation according to established procedures."
Tan faces charges of defamation for claiming at a June 2025 press conference in Washington, D.C., that Lee was detained in a juvenile facility in his youth after taking part in a rape and murder. Courts previously ruled that claim to be false.
Police had initially launched an investigation after receiving a criminal complaint from a civic group, but later closed the case without referring it to prosecutors, ruling that jurisdiction did not apply given that Tan is a foreign national and the statements were made in the U.S.
Prosecutors, however, ordered police May 13 to reopen the investigation, arguing that the definition of a crime's location extends beyond where the act was committed to include where its effects were felt. Prosecutors determined that the country qualifies as the place where the harm occurred, giving investigators sufficient grounds to proceed.
Source: Korea Times News
