Korean American Moss Tan (Korean name Dan Hyun-myung), a former professor at Liberty University in the United States who was indicted on charges of defaming President Lee Jae-myung, lost a lawsuit seeking to cancel the extension of his travel ban.
Kim Tae-hwan, a presiding judge of the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 3 Single Judge Panel, on the 31st ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by former professor Tan against the Ministry of Justice seeking to cancel the extension of his travel ban. With the ruling, the travel ban on Tan will remain in place until the 15th of next month.
The court said, "It is sufficient to meet the requirements for a travel ban if a criminal trial against a foreigner is underway and there is concern that the foreigner will not reenter the Republic of Korea after departure."
It added, "In this case, the plaintiff even refused to receive a summons from the investigative agency," and said, "While being questioned as a suspect, the plaintiff showed an attitude of evading the relevant judicial process by not making any statements at all on any matters, including name and address, without offering any particular defense regarding the charges."
Tan's attorney said after the verdict that they would appeal. The attorney added, however, "We do not have high expectations." The attorney said, "For the right to defense, (former professor Tan) must return to his home country," and added, "We are also considering a state compensation lawsuit."
Tan served as ambassador-at-large for international criminal justice in the first Trump administration in the United States. He became the subject of a police investigation after making false remarks about President Lee's childhood at a press conference and other events in the United States last year.
On May 28, ahead of the June 3 local elections, former professor Tan entered Korea saying he would monitor what he called "election fraud," but received a first travel ban after failing to comply with a police summons.
On the 1st, police referred former professor Tan without detention on charges including defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. Prosecutors lifted the existing travel ban and then imposed a second travel ban. Prosecutors indicted Tan without detention on the 16th, and the Ministry of Justice imposed a third travel ban.
The first trial in the defamation case against former professor Tan is scheduled for Sept. 11.