Professor Moses Tan. [Newsis]
Professor Moses Tan. [Newsis]

Moses Tan (Korean name Dan Hyeon-myeong), a professor at Liberty University in the United States, has been referred to prosecutors on charges of defaming President Lee Jae Myung.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cyber investigation unit said Tuesday it had forwarded Tan to prosecutors without detention on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, as well as criminal defamation under the Criminal Act. His travel ban, which had been set to expire June 30, was extended through July 31.

Tan is accused of making false statements at press conferences and other events in the United States last year, claiming that Lee had been involved in a murder case as a juvenile and had been held in a juvenile detention facility.

Tan arrived in South Korea on May 28, ahead of the June 3 local elections, and was barred from leaving the country after he failed to comply with police summons.

After initially refusing to appear for a police interview, citing concerns about media exposure, Tan underwent a closed-door suspect interrogation on June 25.

Tan, who served as ambassador-at-large for international criminal justice during Donald Trump's first administration, has drawn controversy for claiming South Korean elections were fraudulent and defending former President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of emergency martial law.

Tan's legal team issued a statement calling the extension of his travel ban "an illegal and unjust abuse of state power that lacks legal and procedural legitimacy."

The lawyers added that "detaining a former senior US official for an extended period is a diplomatic blemish on the Republic of Korea."


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