Photo shows address to students, not 'activist briefing lawmakers about vote rigging in South Korea'

Published on July 2, 2025 at 06:44
Updated on July 2, 2025 at 06:46
3 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

A picture of activist and former US diplomat Morse Tan delivering a speech was taken during a ceremony at a leading Christian university, contrary to posts claiming it shows him detailing allegations of election fraud in South Korea's most recent presidential poll to members of Congress. The image has been on the Liberty University law school website since at least November 2022, when Tan served as dean of the institution.

"Ambassador Morse Tan is delivering a speech at the US Congress about fraud in South Korea's presidential election," reads part of the Korean-language text above a photo shared on Facebook on July 1, 2025.

"That the US Congress invited him to speak means that it cannot accept Lee Jae-myung as president," it continues, referring to the winner of South Korea's June 3 election (archived link).

The photo shows Morse Tan -- a former US State Department ambassador-at-large for the Office of Global Criminal Justice -- speaking to an audience from a podium with the American flag visible in the background (archived link).

Days earlier, Tan and other far-right figures held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, where they promoted conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the South Korean election (archived link).

South Korean newspaper Hankook Ilbo reported that Tan also made inflammatory accusations against Lee during the event, including baseless claims about his past (archived link ).

Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 1, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same image was also shared in multiple Facebook groups supporting South Korean conservative politicians.

"The US legislature will soon invalidate Lee Jae-myung's election," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "The whole world knows Lee is a fake president."

The photo, however, has circulated online since at least 2022 -- years before Lee was elected.

University courtroom

A reverse image search on Google led to the same photo posted on the website of Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian institution in Virginia (archived link).

Its caption reads: "Dean Morse Tan addresses the Class of 2022 during the annual Ad Fontes ceremony."

Archives of the same webpage show the photo on the university's website since at least November 2022.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared image (left) and the Liberty University photo (right)

Tan was addressing the students in Liberty University School of Law's 330-seat Supreme Courtroom, which the institution's website says "features a nine-seat bench, an exact replica of the US Supreme Courtroom bench" and is used for "mock trials, law convocations, and special law events" (archived here and here).

As of July 2, there are no official reports of Tan addressing Congress or being invited to speak before lawmakers on the topic of South Korean elections after Lee's election victory.

According to the US Senate's official website, speeches before joint sessions of Congress are typically reserved for heads of state (archived link).

AFP has debunked various allegations of fraud in South Korea's previous elections.

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