Supreme Court confirms suspended prison term for ex-vice justice minister in assault case

▲ Former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu (Yonhap)

ex-vice justice minister-sentence

Supreme Court confirms suspended prison term for ex-vice justice minister in assault case

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a suspended prison term for former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu for assaulting a taxi driver and attempting to destroy evidence.

The top court said there was no misunderstanding of legal principles in the lower courts' imposition of a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, on Lee.

Lee was indicted for assaulting a cab driver in November 2020 under the influence of alcohol when the driver tried to wake him up after arriving at his home. He was additionally charged with giving the driver 10 million won (US$7,750) right after the incident and asking for the deletion of footage from the taxi's black box.

Lee resigned as vice justice minister in May 2021, about six months after his appointment, as the case made headlines.

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