Court: "No Issue with Police Disciplinary Action Over Alleged Favoritism in Lee Yong-gu Investigation"

Lee Yong-gu, Deputy Minister of Justice, attended the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in December 2020, wiping sweat as he seemed tense. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] A police officer who was disciplined for failing to properly handle the assault case involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu and a taxi driver filed an administrative lawsuit against the disciplinary action but lost.

On the 16th, the Administrative Division 2 of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Mr. A, former head of the Criminal Division at Seocho Police Station, in his lawsuit seeking to cancel the suspension order filed against the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency. This means the disciplinary action against Mr. A was deemed justified.

Former Deputy Minister Lee was prosecuted last September on charges including grabbing and pushing the collar of a taxi driver who tried to wake him up while he was intoxicated in front of his apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on November 6, 2020. The case was initially closed by the police investigation but was reopened after Lee was appointed Deputy Minister at the end of 2020 and the incident became public again.

As a result, it was revealed that the investigator who handled the case at the time had reviewed the black box footage showing the assault but failed to report it. In October of last year, the National Police Agency held a disciplinary committee and issued suspension orders to Mr. A, who was in a supervisory position, and the head of the criminal team. The investigator in charge of the case was dismissed.

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