Lee Dong-gwan, ‘Son’s school violence’, continues the battle between the ruling and opposition parties over the explanation of the entrance statement

[이데일리 고규대 기자] The battle between the ruling and opposition parties continues over the suspicion of abusing the son of Lee Dong-gwan, the special adviser for foreign cooperation in the presidential office.

On the 10th, through a high-ranking official in the passport, there was even a voice that took issue with the process of raising suspicion of school violence. Even though the two parties have already reconciled and settled the case, there has also been an argument that the problem arose through a teacher who was not involved in the investigation.

Currently, special advisor Lee is being talked about as the next chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, and the battles between the ruling and opposition parties are not abating. The opposition is pressuring him to resign because the appointment itself is inappropriate, and the passport is in a position to verify the authenticity of Lee Dong-gwan’s suspicions through a hearing. In a commentary on the 10th, Han Min-soo, spokesperson of the Democratic Party, claimed that the school leadership committee had decided to transfer his son to school and called the then Hanago principal to find out about the situation. A spokesperson admitted that Chairman Kim Seung-yu of Hanago had received a request from special advisor Lee to delay the action, and that the search committee had not been held either.

Regarding this, Special Advisor Lee refuted again, saying that the statement was made by referring to the minutes of the Seoul Metropolitan Council meeting and media reports from 2015, when the related suspicions were raised. It is said that there was a mention of a ‘leading committee’ in the ‘Special Committee for Administrative Affairs Investigation to Investigate the Suspicion of Preference at Hana High School’ held in August 2015 by the Seoul Metropolitan Council. It is known that the actual minutes of the meeting included the contents of the principal of Hana High School at the time, “It became a problem because the students on the other side were harmed, so the guidance committee decided to recommend a transfer.”

Previously, Lee Dong-gwan, the presidential office’s special advisor for foreign cooperation, had released an 8-page A4-page statement regarding the issue of his son’s school violence in the past, and actively explained the raised suspicions. In a statement released to the press, Special Reporter Lee said, “I am very sorry for the controversy surrounding my child’s school violence while he was in high school, regardless of the facts.” “I have refrained from official responses in the meantime, thinking that it is not the right thing to do to the person in charge of personnel appointments, and it is not the degree.” I decided that I could no longer remain silent in the situation.”

Regarding the suspicion of abusing his son, Special Reporter Lee argued, “There was a fact that there was a physical quarrel between them in the first grade in 2011, but it was not a unilateral abuse situation.” He also added, “At the time, I told friends and reporters around me that ‘the facts were exaggerated and I didn’t think it was abusive at the time'”. Regarding the school transfer measure for his son, Special Reporter Lee said, “The parties were reconciled and subject to light disciplinary action for an unpunishable matter, but the opinion of many lawyers specializing in school violence is that they seem to have been severely punished as a ‘model case’.”