Yong-gu Lee’s assault case… Imprisonment for a special law for a man who swung his fist while stopping

A court sentenced Mr. A for assaulting the driver for assaulting a vehicle driver who stopped at a traffic light due to a fertilization while driving. Mr. A’s side argued that “it is not’driving’ because the victim tried to get off,” but the court did not accept it.

On the 29th, the 12th Criminal Division of the Seoul Eastern District Law (President Judge Park Sang-gu) announced on the 29th that he sentenced Mr. A to 1 year and 6 months in prison on charges of assaulting a driver under the Specific Crimes Aggregated Penalty Act. Although the court sentenced him to imprisonment, it did not intervene in court to give him an opportunity to agree with the victims.

This case was similar to the recent controversial assault case of a taxi driver by the controversial Deputy Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu in that the driver, who is the victim, was assaulted with the transmission gear in’P (parking)’.

According to the ruling, on January 21 of last year, Mr. A started swearing at the truck driver on the road in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, when the truck in front did not fit in the lane. Later, at the crossroads, when Mr. A’s vehicle and the truck driven by the victim caught the same signal, he got off the car and approached the driver’s seat of the truck. When the victim opened the car door, Mr. A grabbed the victim’s leg while sitting in the driver’s seat and hit the face with a fist.

While Mr. A was assaulting the victim, the signal changed and the vehicle in the next lane continued to operate. When Mr. A hit the victim and returned to his car, the victim stopped in front of Mr. A’s vehicle and reported it to the police. As a result of Mr. A’s assault, the victim suffered 180 days of injuries, including two teeth extraction and implantation.

In the course of the trial, it became an issue whether it could be considered that Mr. A’s assault was “in operation”. Mr. A argued, “Because the victim opened the truck door first and moved his right foot near the door, it should be said that he did not intend to drive anymore.” The purpose of this is that it is not applicable to driver assault under the Special Act, which applies only when driving. Under the Special Act, the statutory punishment for assault is ‘5 years or less imprisonment, 20 million won or less fine’, which is heavier than general assault (legal imprisonment 2 years or less, 5 million won or less fine)

Regarding Mr. A’s claim, the judge said, “There was enough concern that the assault site would harm traffic safety as a crossroad road where many vehicles pass. He added, “The revised law in 2015 clearly stipulates that the range of motorists in operation includes temporary stops for getting on and off.”

Vice Minister of Justice Lee Yong-gu assaulted a taxi driver who was trying to wake him up in front of an apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul on November 6, last year when he was a lawyer, but he was not arrested. At the time, the police applied the crime of general assault, not the Special Act, because the location where the taxi stopped was on the opposite side of the apartment complex and there was no concern for safety. The police investigation was ended because the crime of assault was an anti-government crime, and the taxi driver, the victim at the time, did not want punishment. Subsequently, when controversy over whether the case was appropriately handled, the prosecution is re-investigating the case, and the police are conducting a fact-finding investigation into the investigation process.

Reporter Jeong Jin-ho [email protected]