Morse Tan, who is under a travel ban and being investigated for defamation, gave a live-streamed interview on June 17, 2026, speaking in detail about the breakdown of the rule of law in South Korea and allegations of election fraud.
A Former U.S. Ambassador Stuck in Seoul
Morse Tan @MorseHTan served as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice under President Donald Trump's first administration. The role involves investigating mass killings and large-scale human rights abuses around the world and reporting findings to the president. He currently teaches at Liberty University in Virginia.
South Korean police opened a defamation investigation against Tan and applied for a travel ban after he said at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in June 2025, that President Lee Jae-myung had been involved in a serious crime as a teenager and sent to a juvenile detention center. Tan had come to South Korea to personally check whether the June 3, 2026, local elections had been conducted fairly. He remains in Seoul today.
In December 2025, a Seoul appeals court ruled that similar statements made by attorney Kang Yong-seok on YouTube were "enough to make ordinary voters believe that President Lee had been to a juvenile detention center," and sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for two years.
"I Have Evidence. My Confidence Has Not Wavered."
When host Lee Young-don asked about the defamation investigation, Tan did not back down from his claims about Lee's alleged time in a juvenile detention center.
"I looked at the various evidence and concluded there was enough to support what I said. My view has not changed since the press conference in Washington, D.C. If anything, my confidence has grown stronger. They do not try to prove otherwise. Because they cannot."
When asked about being called "far-right" and a "conspiracy theorist" by those aligned with President Lee, Tan replied, "That is a joke. If the mainstream of Korea is far-right, then I guess that is what it is."
Three Lawyers and Outreach to the U.S.
Tan said he is fighting back on several fronts at the same time.
"I have good lawyers representing me. At the same time, I am reaching out directly to people in the U.S. government and working with U.S. media."
He also revealed that former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn @hkyoahn has traveled to the United States and briefed Mike Lindell, a conservative businessman and close ally of President Trump, on Tan's situation. "The message has reached the highest levels of the U.S. government directly," Tan said.
In response to Tan's travel ban, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told the conservative outlet Daily Caller News Foundation, "The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans."
The spokesperson also said the department "takes seriously any concerns that U.S. citizens are subject to exit bans without a fair and transparent process to resolve them."
South Korea's Legal System — "Like a North Korean Courtroom"
Drawing on his years of research and investigation into international criminal justice and human rights, Tan shared his view of South Korea's legal system.
"The rule of law in Korea has broken down on a large scale. The legislature, the courts, and the prosecution have all come under political influence. Among them, people who have studied the North Korean way of doing things have come to make up a large number. In North Korean courts, only the words that the Kim Jong-un regime orders to be announced are announced. The same thing is starting to happen in South Korea."
Host Lee Young-don added his own view, saying, "The National Assembly is now made up mostly of lawmakers who won their seats through fraudulent elections, and that is connected to the courts and the government, causing the whole country to break down."
Election Fraud Allegations — "A Third-Grader Could See the Problem"
Tan has consistently claimed that South Korean elections have been rigged, starting with the June 2025 presidential election.
"Last year, my international election observation team put together a report. You can find it at election-fraud.com. At 140 polling stations, the number of actual ballots cast and the number reported by the National Election Commission differed by nine to fifteen percent. The math simply does not add up. A third-grader could see that something is wrong."
Lee Young-don also pointed to the gap between early votes and votes cast on election day. "In past elections, the difference was around eight to ten percent. This time it was even wider. That kind of gap is not normal."
South Korea's election authorities, the Lee Jae-myung administration, and major media outlets dismiss these claims as conspiracy theories. Tan pushed back, calling that "gaslighting" — a term for when someone tries to make another person doubt what they can clearly see is true.
Warnings of Communization, Military Collapse, and Rebellion
Lee Young-don summarized Tan's views on the biggest dangers facing South Korea.
"South Korea is moving quickly toward communization and dictatorship. The rule of law is breaking down, and the most basic human rights are being destroyed. If North Korea swallows South Korea, it would have the same effect as China taking over the entire Korean Peninsula."
On the destruction of the military system, Tan himself said, "Generals and colonels are being removed one after another, and the military academy system is being dismantled. This is an act of rebellion."
Tan noted that as someone who has investigated authoritarian regimes around the world in his former role, he recognized this as a familiar pattern.
Two Messages to the Police
Tan sent two different messages to South Korean police.
The first was a criticism of their failure to investigate the allegations against Lee Jae-myung. Tan said that the more seriously the allegations are investigated, the more facts damaging to Lee will come out, and that is precisely why the investigation is not being done.
"The police know. They know that investigating this will cause problems. The more they come at me, the stronger I become. The police just follow orders from above. It is wrong, but it is not funny. The police are being gaslit."
The second was a direct appeal to officers on the streets of Seoul, where protests have been ongoing. He said in English, "These are your neighbors, these are your friends, these are your family members. Do not harm them."
"Lee Jae-myung Must Step Down"
In the middle of talking about election fraud and the breakdown of the justice system, Tan stated his view of President Lee Jae-myung directly in English.
"I think Lee Jae-myung needs to step down."
He also called for the National Assembly to be dissolved and for a new, legitimate election to be held. "Lee Jae-myung is not the rightful president of South Korea. The National Assembly should be made up of people truly chosen by the people."
The U.S.-Korea Alliance and His Vision for the Future
Tan was also clear about where he stands on the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
"The alliance must be strengthened, not destroyed. China and North Korea are actively working to tear it apart, and the Lee Jae-myung administration is helping them do it."
At the end of the interview, Tan praised the South Korean people for the many ways they continue to resist through music, art, social media, and public protests.
"The Korean people are doing so well. More and more people are waking up and raising their voices. Even in this situation, God is at work. I know that God loves South Korea. Let us keep fighting together for truth and justice."
Tan said he hopes to play a role in Korean reunification and in strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the future, whether through a position in the Trump administration or through independent work.
Since early June, he has been unable to return to his family in America or go back to his job there. Even so, he believes this is God's will, and he continues to work for South Korea.