Seocho Police Station Reports to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Three Times After Verifying Lee Yong-gu's Identity

Lee Yong-gu, Deputy Minister of Justice, is entering the conference room to attend the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Regarding the assault incident involving Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu and a taxi driver, it has been reported that the Seocho Police Station in Seoul, which first investigated the case, identified that Deputy Minister Lee was a prominent figure at the time of the incident and subsequently made three related reports to the higher authority, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

According to the police on the 29th, Sergeant A of the Life Safety Division at Seocho Police Station received a report of the incident from the local police box and on November 9 of last year, reported the outline of Deputy Minister Lee’s case to Sergeant B of the Life Safety Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Later that same day, Sergeant B reportedly called Sergeant A twice to inquire about the case handling plan. Sergeant A additionally reported that an investigation of the victim driver was scheduled and that the driver had submitted a letter expressing no desire to punish Deputy Minister Lee.

That day was also when the then Seocho Police Station Chief (Senior Superintendent) and the head of the Criminal Investigation Division (Police Superintendent), who was responsible for the investigation, became aware that Deputy Minister Lee was mentioned as one of the initial candidates for the high-ranking official crime investigation agency (the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, or CPO).

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Joint Fact-finding Investigation Team explained that the station chief was informed by the Life Safety Division that the perpetrator was mentioned as one of the candidates for the CPO chief and instructed the head of the Criminal Investigation Division to clarify the evidentiary facts of the case. The head of the Criminal Investigation Division also acknowledged that he recognized Deputy Minister Lee’s identity through an internet search.

However, the fact-finding investigation team stated that regarding whether this information was reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, "It was only notified among Life Safety Division staff for reference purposes, and it has been confirmed that no related report was created or reported to the investigative department or command line."

About three weeks before his appointment as deputy minister, on November 6 last year, Deputy Minister Lee, intoxicated, fell asleep after taking a taxi and upon arriving in front of his home in Seocho-gu, grabbed the collar of the taxi driver who was trying to wake him, leading to a police report. The police did not book Deputy Minister Lee as the victim did not wish to press charges, and the case was closed as an internal investigation.

However, after Deputy Minister Lee’s inauguration, the assault incident became known, raising suspicions that the police had conducted a 'lenient investigation.' To investigate this, the police formed a fact-finding investigation team at the end of January this year and plan to announce the investigation results soon. The prosecution has also received a complaint from a civic group and is re-investigating the case, reviewing the process of closing the internal investigation. Deputy Minister Lee tendered his resignation yesterday, six months after his inauguration.

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