Police reportedly dismissed a complaint over statements made in the United States by Mos Tan (Korean name Dan Hyun-myung), a professor at Liberty University, who raised allegations that President Lee Jae-myung was involved in violent crime as a teenager.
According to police and others on the 5th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cyber investigation unit dismissed and did not refer for indictment on Apr. 9 a case filed by the civic group Jayu Daehan Hokukdan accusing Tan of defamation by specifying false information, citing "no right of prosecution."
Earlier, Jayu Daehan Hokukdan filed a complaint alleging that at a press conference hosted by the "International Election Monitoring Group" held at the National Press Building in Washington, D.C., in June last year, Tan publicized false information by saying, "When he was a teenager, the president was involved in the murder of a girl and was sent to a juvenile detention center, and because of that, he was unable to attend middle and high school."
Police received the complaint in July last year and launched an investigation, but determined there was no right of prosecution given that Tan is a foreign national with U.S. citizenship and the remarks were made in the United States.
However, police are still currently investigating other statements Tan made in Korea.
A police official said, "Other complaints besides the one filed by Jayu Daehan Hokukdan are currently investigating," adding, "The notice measure upon Tan's entry into the country remains in effect."
Tan, who served as ambassador-at-large for international criminal justice at the State Department during the first Trump administration, has been promoting conspiracy theories including claims that fraudulent elections took place in Korea.