Lawyer Turned Politician Cleared of Tax Evasion Allegations: Lee Yong-woo’s Name Vindicated in High-Profile Case
Public Official Election Act Violation Case Not Indicted… Tax Portal Suspicion Under Investigation by Prosecution
Rep. Lee Yong-woo Found Not Guilty of Publishing False Information
Rep. Lee Yong-woo
[Provided by the Democratic Party of Korea, resale and DB prohibited]
In April, ahead of the general election, suspicions were raised that Rep. Lee Yong-woo, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, had “evaded taxes while working as a lawyer.” However, he was found not guilty by the police of publishing false information under the Public Official Election Act.
According to the police, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit recently dropped Rep. Lee as not guilty. This decision was made after an investigation into allegations that he had published false information under the Public Official Election Act.
Rep. Lee has been practicing as a lawyer for 11 years since 2013 and has taken on over 500 cases. However, he only reported 15 cases to the Bar Association, submitting the records of the remaining cases to the Bar Association immediately after being nominated as a member of the National Assembly. This caused controversy during the general election.
Under the Attorney-at-Law Act, lawyers must obtain a “certificate of passage” from their local bar association when submitting a letter of appointment to the prosecution or police. This provision is in place to prevent tax evasion by lawyers.
When the controversy arose, Rep. Lee posted a rebuttal on Facebook in March, stating that he was a salaried lawyer and did not need to go through the bar association. He claimed that he had never missed a transit certificate in the past 11 years.
The People Power Party filed a complaint against Rep. Lee, alleging that his explanation was not true and constituted a false statement under the Public Official Election Act. However, the police investigation found that it was difficult to view the contents of Rep. Lee’s rebuttal as false.
The police investigation revealed that Rep. Lee was actually working as a salaried attorney at a law firm and was not directly involved in procedures such as reporting cases. He was not responsible under the relevant laws.
The police determined that there was no clear evidence of a violation of election law and did not summon Rep. Lee for questioning. A police official stated that they analyzed the laws related to the report of acceptance of the contract and confirmed Rep. Lee’s status at the law firm at the time.
Meanwhile, the prosecution is currently investigating a case filed by the civic group ‘Free Republic of Korea Patriotic Corps’ in March. The group claimed that Rep. Lee had only paid 12 million won in income tax over the past five years while working as a lawyer, suspecting tax evasion.