Police Announce Investigation Results on Lee Yong-gu Case: "No Evidence of Solicitation or External Pressure" (Update)

Police Announce Investigation Results on Alleged Botched Probe of Lee Yong-gu Case
Lead Investigator to Be Referred to Prosecution... Team Leader and Manager to Face Investigation Review Committee
Former Vice Minister Lee Also Referred for Evidence Tampering Charges

On the 9th, Kang Il-gu, head of the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit, announced the results of the fact-finding investigation regarding the assault incident involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu and a taxi driver at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Naejadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Jeongyun Lee] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Joint Investigation Team for Inquiry and Investigation announced on the 9th that they have decided to refer Sergeant A, the investigator in charge of the taxi driver assault case involving former Vice Minister of Justice Yonggu Lee, to the prosecution on charges of dereliction of duty.

The investigation team found that Sergeant A failed to report despite having viewed the black box footage capturing the assault by former Vice Minister Lee, and also held the immediate superiors, the team leader and section chief, partially responsible. The team leader and section chief, including the Seocho Police Station chief, neglected their duty to report the case, which was subject to reporting under the Criminal Investigation Regulations, and violated their reporting obligations. They will be held accountable for their negligence in supervising the case handling, and an internal investigation will be initiated. The disposition of the team leader and section chief will likely be decided through the Police Investigation Review Committee.

The investigation team also plans to refer former Vice Minister Lee to the prosecution on charges of instructing evidence destruction. The police decided to hand over taxi driver B to the prosecution on charges of evidence destruction as well, but will consider mitigating factors such as B being the victim of the assault and acting upon the perpetrator's request.

The investigation team concluded that Sergeant A, the team leader, and the section chief were aware that former Vice Minister Lee was being considered as a candidate for the first head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office at the time of handling the case. The team also confirmed that a staff member from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Safety Division received information about the case from Sergeant C of the Seocho Police Station's Public Safety Division, but that staff member did not report it to higher authorities. However, it was concluded that the Criminal Investigation Division of Seocho Police Station, which handled the case, never reported the matter to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Investigation Department.

The investigation team analyzed over 8,000 phone call records between former Vice Minister Lee, the Seocho Police Station chief, and other related parties from November 6 to December 31 of last year, and selected 57 potential recipients for investigation, but found no evidence of improper requests or intervention from higher-ups during the case handling process. It was also confirmed that former Vice Minister Lee did not have any phone calls with current or former police officers, the Seocho Police Station chief, or the case handlers.