Prosecutors to Question Vice Minister Lee Yong-gu Today Over 'Drunken Assault' Complaint... Likely to Directly Investigate Police 'Neglect of Duty' Referral as Well

Beopseoryeon Representative: "Serious Power-Type Crime, Vice Minister Lee Must Be Detained and Investigated"

Lee Yong-gu, the Deputy Minister of Justice, who has been embroiled in controversy after the police closed the investigation into an incident where he assaulted a taxi driver during his time as a lawyer, is attending a Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The prosecution has begun a full-scale investigation by summoning the accuser who filed a complaint against Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for assaulting a taxi driver while intoxicated on the 30th.

The prosecution is also expected to soon launch a direct investigation into the police investigation team and command, who were requested for investigation on charges such as dereliction of duty due to a ‘poor investigation’ of Vice Minister Lee, anticipating a tense confrontation with the police during the investigation process.

The Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Dong-eon) summoned Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the Action Alliance for Restoring the Rule of Law, from 10 a.m. today to investigate the purpose of the complaint.

On the 19th, Lee filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office against Vice Minister Lee for violating Article 5-10 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (aggravated punishment for assaulting drivers of operating vehicles), and on the 20th, he requested an investigation into the police investigation team that closed the internal investigation on Vice Minister Lee and an unidentified superior on charges of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority, respectively.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office regards the cases requesting investigation of police officers, which have not yet been assigned, as related cases and is expected to assign them to the Criminal Division 5, which handles traffic crimes, or classify them as official duty crimes and assign them to the Criminal Division 1, soon launching a full-scale investigation.

With the revised Criminal Procedure Act and other bills adjusting investigative authority between the prosecution and police set to be fully implemented from January next year, and with Police Chief Kim Chang-ryong denying allegations of ‘lenient investigations,’ the prosecution’s renewed scrutiny of the case leaves the police no choice but to closely monitor the prosecution’s investigation.

Before appearing at the prosecution this morning, Lee told reporters, “This taxi driver assault case is a serious power-type crime where the powerful assaulted powerless commoners,” and urged, “Considering the high possibility that superiors intervened to cover up the case during the internal investigation closure, there is a risk of evidence destruction, so Vice Minister Lee must be immediately detained and investigated.”

The prosecution plans to summon Kwon Min-sik, the representative of the Judicial Examination Preparation Group, who also filed a complaint against Vice Minister Lee for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, for investigation at 3 p.m. today.

About 20 days before being appointed Vice Minister of Justice, on the late afternoon of last month 6th, Vice Minister Lee assaulted a taxi driver who tried to wake him up while he was intoxicated in front of his apartment home in Seocho-gu, but the police did not even book him and closed the internal investigation, sparking controversy.

In particular, ▲the purpose of the revised law clearly states that assault during a stop is also subject to aggravated punishment, but the police’s application of the law contradicts this, ▲there are clear signs of a poor initial investigation, such as not properly checking the black box early in the investigation, and ▲the explanation that the assault case of the Vice Minister of Justice was not reported to the Police Chief or the Blue House is also difficult to accept.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.