Mos Tan completes closed-door police questioning; fate of travel ban unclear ahead of Tuesday deadline

By Jung Joo-won, The Herald Business

Mos Tan, a Liberty University professor known in Korea as Dan Hyeon-myeong, has completed a closed-door police investigation over allegations that he spread false information about President Lee Jae Myung.

Tan's legal team announced Friday that he underwent suspect questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cybercrime investigation unit from 10 a.m. to just past noon on Thursday.

"The questioning was conducted in a question-and-answer format with defense counsel present," the legal team said in a statement. "We conveyed our legal position fully and in detail through the written opinion already submitted." The team added that it does not expect further questioning at this point.

The defense team also said the travel ban on Tan is set to expire at midnight Tuesday. "If no separate new measure is issued, Professor Tan will be free to leave the country," it said, adding that it is preparing all necessary legal responses against any extension of the travel ban that fails to meet legal requirements, or any other unlawful or unjust action.

Tan had been scheduled to appear before police on Wednesday but failed to do so, citing concerns about media exposure, and requested a change of date. He subsequently coordinated with police and underwent the closed-door questioning the following day, Thursday.

Tan served as ambassador-at-large for international criminal justice during the first Trump administration. He faces allegations that he made false statements — at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last year and at church gatherings in South Korea — claiming that President Lee had been held in a juvenile detention facility in connection with a murder case during his youth.

Police determined the statements to be false and applied defamation charges under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. Tan has been under a travel ban after repeatedly ignoring police summons following his arrival in South Korea on May 28.

There has been speculation that police could seek an extension of the travel ban depending on how the investigation proceeds. A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said Wednesday that the agency "cannot confirm" whether the ban would be extended, as the matter is under active investigation.