Here is an interesting South Korea tie in to the latest culture war incident in the U.S. that was conveniently started just before the mid-term elections:
Winston Lee, one of the seven fraternity brothers at Cornell University accused by a fellow student of gang rape, is the grandson of a former South Korean prime minister and ambassador to the U.S.
The ex-Chi Phi fraternity bro was accused by a Cornell student known only as “Jane Doe” of snorting ketamine off her and forcing oral sex on her during the alleged gang rape.
Cornell suspended him for two years.
Winston’s grandfather is Lee Hong-koo, who served as South Korea’s leader between 1994 and 1995, and the country’s ambassador to the US from 1998 to 2000, during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
The two statesmen and power players often crossed paths, including at a 2000 commemorative ceremony at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, marking the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, where they posed for photos alongside each other.
Even after Clinton left the presidency, they appeared to remain close — like when Lee invited Clinton for bibimbap, a dish Bubba was a “huge fan” of, at a Seoul hotel in 2005 when the former president was in town to promote his autobiography.
Lee died in May, and Winston served as the chief mourner at the high-profile Seoul funeral — overseeing key rites, greeting guests and receiving condolences on behalf of the family, who are descendants of Korea’s former royal family.
Winston is seen prominently in photos wearing white gloves as he holds up his grandfather’s portrait.
The former prime minister’s only son is Winston’s father, Barton Lee, a Yale University-educated investment banker who is the managing director and head of Asia at EIG in Hong Kong.
You can read more at the link, but here is more of how the Internet is trying to track Lee down:
Photos and videos said to be linked to Lee have circulated online, along with speculation about his military service, citizenship and family background.
Lee and his legal representatives have not addressed the claims.
Others have also found themselves caught up in the mistaken accusations.
One Indonesian man posted on Instagram that he was not the Korean defendant and urged people to stop sending him messages and falsely accusing him.
Lee from the University of Pennsylvania said he has been in contact with others who have faced similar harassment, exchanging stories about the messages and threats they have received.
“We’ve shared the same experiences of getting threats constantly,” he said.
You can read more at the link, but my guess is that Lee is probably in Korea keeping a low profile until this blows over. It will be interesting to see if he returns to New York in response to any charges brought. Since Lettia James was appointed as the special prosecutor, it is clear that her mandate is to get charges on these 7 young men whether real or not just like she did with Trump. She is a political operative with likely ambitions for higher office and this is just another stepping stone for her career.
