[사설] The assault case of Vice Minister Lee Yong-gu that proved’inequality before the law’

‘All citizens are equal before the law’. Article 11 of the Constitution says: It is not an equal country if you are not punished for committing a crime because you are a lawyer, a former high-ranking official, or a person in power. It is not a rule of law. Someone is a’more equal’ class society where the immunity rights of certain groups are recognized.

The assault case of a taxi driver by Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu proves that the country is at the beginning of a path back to such a society. Deputy Minister Lee was not drowned by the police despite the assault by grabbing the knight’s fat and shaking it. In May of last year, the police applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his thirties who threw a coin while swearing at a taxi driver. The warrant was dismissed, but the court held him in court when the first trial was sentenced. This was because assaults against taxi drivers were subject to punishment according to the Specific Crime Aggravated Punishment Act (Special Privilege Act). However, some of them did nothing even if they committed smacking violence, while others went to prison for swearing and tossing coins. What if this is not before the law inequality for the privileged and ordinary people?

The police claimed that the taxi had arrived at the destination, so it could not be considered that it was in operation, so it was not a special law, but a general criminal law. However, the current law clearly states that stops for getting on and off are considered to be in operation. If the law is applied differently from person to person, it is nothing more than a shield of class society.

The police called the victim to investigate, but did not conduct a face-to-face investigation of the perpetrator, Vice Minister Lee (former head of the Justice Department at the time of the incident). The case was covered up without filing. Because of that, it was not even reported to the prosecution. Could a general citizen be treated like this even though he was the perpetrator of the same incident? Anyone who has been to the police station knows that it is something you can never expect.

It must be clearly revealed whether the police officer in charge has arbitrarily disposed of it, whether it has been ordered and fulfilled by the superiors, or has taken some action somewhere outside the police. The prosecution, who was in charge of this case due to a civil group accusation, must determine whether the case was reduced or concealed. There should also be reasonable penalties for the assault of Vice Minister Lee. If even the prosecution is roughly covered, the common sense of equality before the law will have no place to lean on. There are already voices of concern over the great possibility that the case will be handled by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, where the prosecutor Lee Seong-yoon is located. I urge prosecutors to be loyal to the law, not to power.