Religious freedom group raises concerns over former US ambassador's South Korea exit ban
Save the Persecuted Christians says Morse Tan has been unable to leave the country for more than five weeks while challenging a criminal defamation investigation over remarks he made in Washington, D.C.
A religious freedom group is raising concerns after a former Trump administration ambassador was placed under an exit ban in South Korea last month.
According to Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC), Morse Tan, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, has been unable to leave South Korea for more than five weeks after authorities placed him under an exit ban upon his arrival in the country in early June.
STPC said the exit ban is tied to a criminal defamation investigation into remarks Tan made in Washington, D.C., about South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's alleged juvenile incident and reformatory detention.
Dede Laugesen, president and CEO of STPC, said she contacted Tan July 14 to confirm his situation and expressed concern that the case has received little attention in the U.S.
“[Tan] is also concerned,” she said, “that his case has not received the attention it deserves in the States and has asked for our help to expose this CCP-like lawfare that is keeping him hostage in Korea.”
The organization said prosecutors have taken over the case from police, increasing the possibility Tan could face arrest or incarceration while the investigation continues. Tan described the development as a "dangerous escalation,” according to a July 9 interview.
During court proceedings, Tan argued South Korean authorities lack jurisdiction over speech he made as an American citizen in the U.S., maintaining that his remarks are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“This is not the rule of law,” Tan said, according to STPC. “This is lawfare where they are weaponizing so-called law to try to go after me.”
Tan said the circumstances of the case make it especially concerning.
“This would be disturbing enough if this was against any U.S. citizen,” Tan said, “but I had the privilege of serving as one of Trump’s ambassadors during his first administration. And this is in the context of an alliance that’s supposed to exist between South Korea and the United States.”
He continued, saying, “This is wrong on every level in terms of jurisdictionally, as well as procedurally, as well as substantively.”
According to Hankyoreh, a Korean news outlet, Tan’s exit ban was extended to the end of July.
Tan was appointed ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice in 2019. He led U.S. efforts addressing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
