A former U.S. diplomat appeared in court in South Korea Friday facing charges of defamation against President Lee Jae Myung for comments made on American soil in a case that has left him stranded in the Asian country.

Morse Tan's troubles began after he delivered a talk in June 2025 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and responded to a question where he brought up the South Korean leader's alleged involvement in a crime as an adolescent.

Since visiting the country in May, Tan has not been allowed to leave due to the case against him, having been charged under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., and the Criminal Act.

Tan issued his remarks about Lee’s alleged juvenile crimes at a National Press Club event titled: "State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

"The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time."

Tan said the case against him violated his due process rights, and the South Korean judicial system lacks jurisdiction to bring the case. He added that the second charge against him involves his July 2025 talk in South Korea, where he "raised some issues as questions" involving the president. "This is political lawfare. This is a persecution, not a prosecution," he said. 

Tan believes the motivation for seeking to criminalize his free speech stems from the South Korean government’s view of him as a "threat" and an outspoken critic of Lee’s alleged appeasement policy toward the North Korean communist regime.

"People consider me to be leading a movement against the communizing of South Korea," Tan said.

Tan accused the present government of being aligned with North Korean and Chinese communist regimes "against the U.S. and the Korean people." 

Tan points to bias against him by South Korean authorities, who he says prohibited him from attending the funeral of his grandmother, while it allows South Korean prisoners to attend funerals for family members.

KBS World reported that the "Police, who had initially decided not to hand over Tan’s case to the prosecution, launched a reinvestigation at the prosecution’s request."

National Review Online also reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Cyber dismissed a complaint about Tan’s alleged defamatory statements in April 2026, declaring "no right to prosecute."

According to South Korean law, Tan could face a prison term if found guilty.