Vice justice minister apologizes over unpunished assault against driver

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu / Yonhap

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu apologized Monday amid public uproar over his unpunished assault against a taxi driver last month.

"I am deeply sorry for causing concern to the people with a personal matter," he wrote in a statement sent to reporters. "I also apologize again to the taxi driver."

Lee has come under fire after it was reported late last week that he got away free following the altercation in early November.

Lee, who was a lawyer at the time, allegedly grabbed the driver by the collar in an intoxicated state when the man tried to wake him up after arriving at his home in southern Seoul. He was appointed vice minister on Dec. 2.

"I believe the police will review my case and determine right from wrong," Lee said. "As I am now a public official, I will watch my behavior ever more carefully."

Police are looking into past cases to determine whether officers took appropriate steps over Lee's case, according to a police official.

"We will once again thoroughly review legal precedents with the help of former jurists, lawyers and senior officials who handled the case at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency," the official said.

The Seocho Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Lee's neighborhood, applied charges of assault, a crime not punishable against will, not the heavier charges that apply to assault against a driver in motion.

The case was closed last month after the taxi driver indicated he does not want Lee punished.

The official said there have been similar cases where the taxi was deemed to be not moving, qualifying as assault, and other cases where the offender faced heavier charges because an assault on the driver of a soon-to-be moving vehicle was regarded as posing an extra risk.

Police quoted the driver as saying that the vehicle had stopped when the incident occurred.

(Yonhap)