Prosecutors concluded that claims alleging President Lee Jae Myung was sent to a juvenile detention center as a teenager were false.
An indictment filed by prosecutors against Morse Tan stated that President Lee "had not been involved in a gang rape case and sent to a juvenile detention center" nor had he "been prevented from attending middle or high school due to such a criminal record," according to legal circles on Wednesday. Tan, a Korean American and former professor at Liberty University, was indicted without detention on Thursday on defamation charges for spreading claims about Lee.
Some far-right groups have claimed that Lee hid his alleged involvement in a serious crime as a teenager by taking advantage of the fact that juvenile detention records are not publicly disclosed except for judicial or investigative purposes. However, prosecutors who officially checked the records for investigative purposes concluded that the claims were false.
Tan had also spread such claims about Lee made by far-right YouTubers. During a press conference held in Washington last year, he said, “There are reports and rumors that President Lee was involved in a gang rape and murder case as a teenager and was sent to a juvenile detention center." A complaint was filed against Tan on charges including defamation over the remarks.
Police initially dismissed the complaint, saying Korean investigative authorities lacked jurisdiction because Tan, a foreign national, allegedly committed the...
Prosecutors concluded that claims alleging President Lee Jae Myung was sent to a juvenile detention center as a teenager were false. An indictment filed by prosecutors against Morse Tan stated tha...