Did President Yoon Suk Yeol issue an order revoking the travel ban for former Defense Minister Lee Jong Seop? No, that's not true: It was the Ministry of Justice that lifted the travel ban for Lee on March 8, 2024.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @umbilical37 on March 7, 2024. The caption (translated from Korean to English by Lead Stories staff) read:
Criminal Lee Jong Seop's 'Travel Ban Lifted'
Yoon Seok Yeol gave orders
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Mar 8 15:35:09 2024 UTC)
The Corruption Investigation Office (archived here) had been investigating Lee for the death of a Marine, Corp. Chae Sang-byeong (archived here). The travel ban was first reported (archived here) when Lee filed a request to lift the travel ban (archived here) with the Ministry of Justice. The authority to approve, lift or extend travel bans lies with the Ministry of Justice.
The two ways that travel bans (archived here) are lifted are by either an individual filing a request or the Ministry of Justice lifting the ban for humanitarian reasons. The Ministry of Justice must decide within 30 days (archived here) on the individual's travel ban objection. Humanitarian reasons can include a family wedding or funeral.
Donga News (archived here) reported a phone interview with an official from the Presidential Office who said the Office could not confirm with the public prosecution whether Lee was subject to a travel ban on March 7, 2024.
As of March 8, 2024, the Ministry of Justice lifted the travel ban on Lee (archived here) amid controversy over diplomatic disrespect.
