'Taxi Driver Assault' Lee Yong-gu, Trial Begins After One Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The criminal trial of former Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, who was indicted on charges of assaulting a taxi driver while intoxicated, is set to begin. This comes more than a year after the incident, amid controversy over the police's lenient investigation.

On the 16th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 32 (Presiding Judge Yoon Jongseop) will hold the first preparatory hearing at 10 a.m. for Lee, who was indicted on charges of assaulting a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

During the hearing, the court will listen to the prosecution's summary of the charges and confirm Lee's position. The court may also plan the trial schedule, including deciding on witnesses to be called in future proceedings. However, unlike a formal trial, the defendant is not required to attend, so Lee does not have to appear in court in person.

Previously, Lee was indicted for grabbing and pushing the collar of taxi driver Mr. A, who tried to wake him up while he was intoxicated, in front of his apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on November 6 last year, when he was working as a lawyer.

The issue began when Lee requested the deletion of the black box footage during the settlement process with Mr. A. Mr. A expressed that he did not want to press charges, and the police closed the case as an investigation without prosecution by applying the charge of assault, which requires the victim's withdrawal of complaint. However, despite the incident involving assault on a driver during operation, the police did not apply the charge of assaulting a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Subsequently, after a citizen group filed a complaint, a reinvestigation was launched, raising suspicions that the police attempted to cover up the case despite having reviewed part of the black box footage at the time.

Meanwhile, after reviewing the recovered black box footage during the reinvestigation, the prosecution referred Lee and police officer Mr. A from Seocho Police Station to trial without detention.

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