'Taxi Driver Assault' Lee Yong-gu, Deputy Minister of Justice, Resigns Ahead of Prosecutor Personnel Changes (Comprehensive)

Director Kang Hoseong of the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau and Director Lee Younghee of the Correction Headquarters Also Apply for Honorary Retirement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Lee Yong-gu, Deputy Minister of Justice, who is under investigation for assaulting a taxi driver, has submitted his resignation six months after his appointment.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 28th, Deputy Minister Lee expressed his intention to resign on the same day. He stated, "Both the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution are in urgent need of new innovation and a leap forward, and I believe new workers are needed for this."

This comes just one day after the Ministry of Justice's Prosecution Personnel Committee meeting. The day before, the Prosecution Personnel Committee held a meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon to discuss the standards for personnel changes to be made after the inauguration of the new Prosecutor General. At this meeting, the committee reviewed flexible personnel measures within the "Regulations on the Scope of Duties of Prosecutors at the Level of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Above" concerning the personnel stagnation of Prosecutor Go Ho-bong's generation and related issues when appointing prosecutors at the level of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

Deputy Minister Lee took a leave of absence and did not come to work that day. A former judge, Lee was appointed last year as the successor to then-Deputy Minister Ko Ki-young, who resigned during the disciplinary incident involving former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. It was the first time in about 60 years that a non-prosecutor was appointed as Deputy Minister of Justice since Kim Young-hwan, also a former judge, was appointed in 1960.

However, Deputy Minister Lee has faced continuous pressure to resign since allegations of assaulting a taxi driver surfaced immediately after his appointment. He is under investigation by the police and prosecution for assaulting a taxi driver while heavily intoxicated in November last year.

Recently, he was also questioned as a suspect by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the case. Due to this, the legal community anticipated that Deputy Minister Lee would be replaced in conjunction with the prosecution personnel changes scheduled for early next month.

In addition to Deputy Minister Lee, Kang Ho-seong, Director of the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau, and Lee Young-hee, Director of the Correction Headquarters, have applied for honorary retirement to renew the organization and resolve personnel stagnation.

Kang Ho-seong, who passed the administrative examination, became the first director of the newly established Crime Prevention Policy Bureau in 2018. Director Lee Young-hee was appointed as the first female head of the Correction Headquarters during the personnel reshuffle in July last year.

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