Right after the end of the police investigation… I can’t call all three.
Deputy Minister Lee explained that he called for an investigation quickly.
Damaged taxi driver visits a black box company right after the incident
Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu is attending the legislative judicial review subcommittee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 24th. Newsis
It was confirmed that Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu, who was suspected of assaulting a taxi driver while drinking alcohol, made three attempts by calling the police officer’s personal cell phone in charge of the assault case. Although the actual call was not made, doubts continue over the reason why Vice Minister Lee made the call, as it was right after the police’s internal affairs were closed.
According to the police on the 24th, Vice Minister Lee attempted to speak with investigator A at Seocho Police Station in Seoul three times, twice on the 13th and once on the 16th. Investigator A is the police officer in charge of the assault case of Vice Minister Lee’s taxi driver. Vice Minister Lee called on investigator A’s personal cell phone, but no actual contact was reached.
The time when Vice Minister Lee attempted to call was the day after the police decided to internally close the allegations of Lee’s assault. On the 6th of last month, a report of assaulting a taxi driver was received through 112, and the police received an application for denial of punishment and a brief statement from the victim taxi driver present on the 9th. Vice Minister Lee reportedly met the driver at a cafe on the 8th, the day before the taxi driver was investigated by the police, and apologized and delivered the settlement money.
Seocho-seo initially tried to apply a specific crime weighted punishment law that heavily punishes driver assault against Lee, but changed his judgment and concluded the internal investigation was closed on the 12th. However, the reason for the change was not recorded. At the time, the internal affairs closing report, which lawmakers of the People’s Power read through the police, only stated the purpose of’changing to the one not applying the special price law’.
In this process, however, Vice Minister Lee refused to respond after receiving notification of attendance from the police on the 7th of last month, and then called the police officer in charge on the 13th, the day after the closing of the internal affairs. It is interpreted that Vice Minister Lee, who was in a passive position, suddenly tried to actively check the progress of the case.
In response to a question from Bonbo asking why the phone was attempted, Vice Minister Lee said, “There was no separate contact from the police since the intention to absent on the 9th,” he said. He added, “On the 16th, when I called the office, another detective told me that’Investigator A is off duty,” he said and hung up the phone. On the 16th, the police informed Vice Minister Lee that the internal affairs were closed by text message.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the victim taxi driver went to a black box recovery company in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, before attending the police (on the 7th or 8th of last month). When the police dispatched immediately after reporting 112 checked the black box, there was no video related to this loan, and the black box video storage device (SD card) of the taxi was empty at the police investigation on the 9th.
The reason for the taxi driver’s visit to a black box company is that it is to restore the video and that it is to delete it permanently. A police official “I can delete the video by removing the SD card, but I wouldn’t have gone to Jangan-dong to get rid of the video at the time,” he said. “Would you have gone to recover the video in a frustrated feeling?” On the other hand, Mr. Lee, who runs a black box agency in Jangan-dong, shook his head, saying, “It is difficult to find a recovery company in Jangan-dong,” and “I wonder why I came to this place.”
Jinwoong Kim reporter [email protected]
Jaeyeon Park reporter [email protected]
Park Ji-young reporter [email protected]
Jeongwon Lee reporter [email protected]
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