Korean police seek exit ban for Morse Tan, election denier accused of defaming president

Morse Tan, a former US State Department official, visits a polling station at a community center in Pyeongtaek during early voting for Korea’s local elections on May 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

The Korean police have asked that an exit ban be placed on Morse Tan, former dean at Liberty University, who is accused of defaming President Lee Jae Myung, the Hankyoreh has learned. That request came just five days after the police reopened an investigation into Tan.Hankyoreh reporters learned on Monday that the cyber investigation department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had asked the Justice Ministry to impose an exit ban on Tan, who is suspected of defamation and spreading falsehoods. The police had suspended their investigation into Tan, who lives in the US, after he left the country but reopened it when he reentered Korea on Thursday. The police initiated their investigation into Tan for his alleged defamation of Lee during a press conference held by a group calling itself the “International Election Monitoring Team” in Washington, DC, in June 2025. Tan told the press that Lee had been sent to a juvenile detention center after being implicated in a violent crime during his teenage years.Tan is accused of repeating the claim on a visit to Korea last July.Tan returned to Korea on Thursday, just one day before early voting in the June 3 local elections, as part of the self-styled “Korea-US Election Fraud Joint Investigation Team.” He has been busy since entering the country, holding a meeting with Hwang Kyo-ahn, head of the far-right Freedom and Innovation party, and visiting the office of the National Election Commission in Gyeonggi Province.Tan has refused to cooperate with a police summons, submitting a statement of absence and requesting that investigators be recused from the case.Park Jeong-bo, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said on Monday that Tan had been given a summons when he entered the country but had not shown up for questioning.“We will carry out the necessary investigation as dictated by procedure,” Park said.Tan, a Korean American, served as the US State Department’s ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice during the first Trump administration. He has repeatedly peddled conspiracy theories, including the claim that the Chinese Communist Party has taken steps to rig Korean elections.By Park Go-eun, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]