Yong-gu Lee, Controversies from Inauguration to Resignation... Likely to Be Indicted for 'Assault'

After Emergency Deployment to Disciplinary Committee, Former Prosecutor General Yoon Faces Assault Controversies Throughout Term... Unable to Avoid 'Dishonorable Resignation'

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Former Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu is expected to be indicted soon. The facts have come to light after a video showing him assaulting a taxi driver while intoxicated was released, and suspicions of the police conducting a 'lenient investigation' have also become largely clear. However, Lee has strongly denied the allegations that he ordered the deletion of the assault video.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Dong-eon), which is investigating the case, is considering indicting Lee on charges of assaulting a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Special Act). The police are also contemplating sending the case to the prosecution with a recommendation to indict Lee on charges of instructing evidence destruction.

It was revealed that on November 6 last year, Lee, while intoxicated, strangled the taxi driver's neck and verbally abused him. This scene was captured on the taxi's black box and was made public on the 2nd.

Lee tendered his resignation on the 28th of last month, but the Blue House accepted it only immediately after the video was released. It was six days after his resignation announcement and just one day after the video went public. Considering that he was urgently deployed amid controversy last year to discipline former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and had been embroiled in scandals over assaulting taxi drivers throughout his term, he ultimately could not avoid a dishonorable resignation.

The indictment is now imminent. Given that the video showing Lee assaulting and verbally abusing the taxi driver, with his face clearly visible, was made public to the entire nation, and that investigations into dereliction of duty and abuse of authority (leniency suspicions) by police officers at Seocho Police Station are ongoing, the legal community views Lee's indictment as an inevitable step.

More time seems necessary to investigate whether there was an organized cover-up. Lee stated, "There is no excuse, and I apologize once again to the taxi driver," but he denied the allegations that he ordered the deletion of the video. He sent 10 million won to the taxi driver as a settlement, but claimed it was not in exchange for deleting the video. However, the police have confirmed through forensic analysis that the assault video was deleted and reportedly maintain that Lee, who requested the deletion, can be punished for instructing evidence destruction.

The Ministry of Justice is considering appointing a successor deputy minister. Lee was the first non-prosecutor to be appointed as Deputy Minister of Justice in 60 years. The government decided to exclude prosecutors as part of prosecutorial reform, but distrust toward non-prosecutors is growing. There are also voices calling for a prosecutor to be appointed this time to reconcile conflicts between the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution.

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