Seoul: A Seoul court on Friday upheld a travel ban on Morse Tan, a former Korean American professor charged with defaming President Lee Jae Myung, preventing him from leaving South Korea until August 15. The decision was made after Tan filed a suit to overturn the exit ban imposed by the justice ministry for the third time amid an investigation into the defamation case that involves his allegedly false claim that President Lee was sent to a juvenile detention center as a teenager for taking part in a murder.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Tan, stating that the disadvantage to the plaintiff from maintaining the ban did not greatly outweigh public interest. The court expressed concern that the former professor might not return to South Korea to face additional questioning and potential indictment if allowed to leave the country, citing Tan's uncooperative attitude toward the judicial proceedings.
Tan arrived in South Korea on May 28 to observe the June 3 local elections but did not comply with a police summons for questioning. This non-compliance led to the justice ministry's first travel ban on him through June 30. As the police transferred the case to the prosecution, a second exit ban was implemented through July 31. The restriction was renewed after Tan was indicted on July 16.
Tan's lawyer, in response to the court's decision, criticized the judiciary, claiming it had abandoned its duties and failed in upholding the separation of powers, the constitutional order, and the rule of law. He vowed to appeal the ruling as soon as possible. The first formal hearing of Tan's defamation trial is scheduled for September 11.