Former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu will go on trial for assault for allegedly manhandling a taxi driver prior to his appointment late last year.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that it indicted Lee without physical detention on charges of assault and inciting evidence tampering. 

Lee is accused of grabbing the driver by the collar in an intoxicated state when the man tried to wake him up after arriving at his home in southern Seoul on November 6 of last year. 

The case initially was closed after police conducted an internal investigation but was revisited after it went public shortly after Lee was appointed to vice justice minister last December. Lee eventually stepped down in May. 

Prosecutors also indicted without physical detention a senior of the Seoul Seocho Police Station who handled Lee’s case on charges of dereliction of duty and fabricating official documents.