Vice justice chief undergoes police probe over assault case

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu was questioned by police Sunday over allegations that he pressured a taxi driver he assaulted to destroy related evidence and went unpunished.

Lee appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in central Seoul to undergo questioning for the November case where Lee allegedly hurled insults at the driver and grabbed him by the collar in an intoxicated state when the man tried to wake him up after arriving at his home.

Police were called to the scene and let Lee go home after confirming his identity. But they later closed the case without booking Lee, as the taxi driver did not want him punished.

Lee was a lawyer at that time and was appointed vice minister on Dec. 2.

But fresh allegations have emerged that Lee demanded the taxi driver delete the footage from his dashboard camera to destroy evidence.

He offered to resign Friday, saying the ministry needs a new worker to better support the Moon Jae-in administration for its remaining one year.

The prosecution has also been conducting its own probe into the assault charges to determine the truth as well as if police tried to cover up the case after learning that Lee was on the list of candidates for chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CI0). The powerful investigative body was launched in January.

Last week, prosecutors called Lee in for questioning for the first time since the incident took place. (Yonhap)