▲ Korean American professor Morse Tan (C) visits a polling station in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, where early voting for the June 3 local elections was under way, on May 29, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

US scholar-police probe

Police seek exit ban on U.S. scholar for allegedly defaming Lee

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- Police are pushing to impose a travel ban on Morse Tan, a Korean American professor accused of defaming President Lee Jae Myung, information obtained by Yonhap News Agency showed Monday.

Police asked the Ministry of Justice earlier Monday to approve an exit ban for Tan, citing flight risk after he failed to comply with a previous summons, according to the obtained information.

Police are also expected to make another attempt to summon and question Tan, dean of Liberty University School of Law who formerly served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice under the first Donald Trump administration.

Tan is suspected of having defamed the South Korean president by spreading false information about him, claiming during an event in Washington last year that Lee had been involved in a gang rape and murder of a girl during his youth, and that he was sent to a juvenile detention center.

He is also known for making claims of election fraud in South Korea, including his earlier argument that the last presidential election here was rigged.

Tan had been staying in the U.S., complicating the South Korean police investigation, but entered South Korea late last month ahead of the June 3 local elections, saying that he would monitor and verify election fraud.

Park Jeong-bo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said police will conduct the necessary investigation into Tan in accordance with established procedures.

Upon Tan's arrival at Incheon International Airport on Thursday, police asked him to appear before investigators the following day, but he did not comply, Park said in a press briefing.

Tan has instead submitted a request to police seeking the recusal of the investigators, along with a statement outlining the reasons for his absence, Park noted.

The police are expected to issue another summons to Tan, as he is said to be scheduled to leave the country immediately after Wednesday's local elections.

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