Former US diplomat indicted in defamation case against President Lee

Prosecutors have indicted Korean American professor Morse Tan on criminal defamation charges over false claims targeting President Lee Jae Myung.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (SCDPO) reportedly indicted Tan without detention Thursday on multiple defamation charges.

Tan, who served as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice under the first Trump administration, is accused of spreading false allegations during a press conference in Washington, D.C., last year.

He allegedly claimed that Lee had been involved in a gang rape and murder of a girl when he was a juvenile and had been sent to a juvenile detention center.

Police had initially launched an investigation after receiving a criminal complaint from a civic group, but later closed the case in April without referring it to prosecutors, ruling that jurisdiction did not apply given that Tan is a foreign national and the statements were made in the U.S.

However, prosecutors requested that the investigation be reopened, arguing that local authorities have jurisdiction since the alleged victim, President Lee, ...