South Korean Court Upholds Exit Ban on Former U.S. Diplomat Amid Defamation Trial
A Seoul court denied former Trump envoy Morse H. Tan's request to lift his travel ban, preventing him from attending his grandmother's funeral in the United States.
Former Trump diplomat Morse H. Tan continues to be held under a South Korean exit ban as he prepares for a defamation trial concerning statements about President Lee Jae Myung made in Washington, D.C. The Seoul Administrative Court refused his request to temporarily lift the ban so he could travel to the United States for his 103-year-old grandmother's funeral. Tan, who was U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice from 2019 to 2021, has been unable to leave the country since his arrest in July following a reopened investigation into his comments.
He is slated to appear in court for the first time on Friday. Despite expressing deep personal grief and delivering an emotional eulogy at a Korean church, the court cited public-interest concerns in maintaining the ban. The case has drawn criticism from U.S. officials and congressional Republicans who view the restriction as an infringement on free speech.
Why it matters
The case highlights tensions between free-speech rights and legal enforcement across international borders.
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