Morse Tan speaks to a crowd gathered outside the handball arena in Seoul’s Olympic Park on June 24, 2026. (Yonhap)
Police referred election conspiracy theorist Morse Tan, a former US government official, to prosecutors on suspicion of defaming South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.Tan’s exit ban was also extended until the end of July.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber investigation unit announced Wednesday that it had referred Tan to prosecutors on suspicion of defamation pursuant to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and the country’s criminal code.In a June 2025 press conference organized by the International Election Monitoring Team at the National Press Building in Washington, DC, Tan claimed that Lee had been sent to a youth detention center as a teenager for involvement in homicide and other violent crimes, which prevented him from attending middle and high school. A complaint on charges of making false statements led to a police investigation.Tan, who has long espoused a belief that Korea’s elections have been rigged, arrived in South Korea on May 28 ahead of the June 3 local elections to meet with Freedom & Innovation leader Hwang Kyo-ahn — who was running for reelection as a National Assembly member in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province — and pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon. Hwang and Jeon are considered some of South Korea’s leading proponents of election fraud claims.Upon his arrival, police requested that Tan appear for questioning. When he refused to comply, an exit ban was imposed.Tan responded by requesting that a court suspend enforcement of the exit ban. The court dismissed his request, acknowledging the “urgent need to prevent irrecoverable damages that might occur to the petitioner as a result” of the exit ban but recognizing “concerns that the suspension of the measure’s effect might have a serious impact on public welfare.”Afterward, Tan continued to refuse to be questioned by police. On June 24, he attended a demonstration at Seoul’s Olympic Park, where he insisted that Lee should assume ultimate responsibility for “fraud” in the recent elections and resign or face impeachment.The day after that demonstration, Tan presented himself to the police for closed-door questioning. Concluding that the charges against him were valid, the police referred the case to prosecutors on Wednesday.The Ministry of Justice extended the expiration date for Tan’s exit ban to late July from its original date of June 30.By Cho Hae-young, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
