Daughter talks about father’s knife attack in Korea coffee shop

The South Korea-based daughter of Byung Deuk Lee, a Korean businessman allegedly diagnosed with Alzheimer disease and kept away from the rest of his family, recalled her father’s violence and aggression in 2015, including a knife attack at their neighbor’s coffee shop.

In her declaration dated Feb. 4, 2016, Young Shin Lee, 43, a resident of Gimpo, Republic of Korea, said she is very worried about the health and safety of her father.

Attorney David G. Banes filed Young Shin Lee’s declaration in Superior Court to support a motion for temporary restraining order.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho denied the request of Lee’s wife, Koom Nye Kim, and their son, Sang Hun Lee, to issue a TRO to stop the elder Lee from handling the businesses on Saipan because he was losing his mind.

The wife and son want to be appointed as guardians and handle the elder Lee’s businesses.

Camacho denied the TRO after attorney Robert T. Torres, counsel for Lee, presented a Jan. 13, 2016 medical report showing that Lee has a mild cognitive impairment and which would improve with medication.

Camacho set an evidentiary hearing for May 2 to determine if a temporary injunction should be granted based on what witnesses will testify about Lee’s mental condition.

In her declaration, Young Shin Lee disclosed that from April until September 2015, her father lived with her and her family. She said her mother, Koom Nye Kim, also lived with them.

Young Shin Lee’s brother is Sang Hun Lee, who with her mother, filed court action against Ji Sook Lee. Ji Sook Lee is the half-sister of Young Shin Lee and Sang Hun Lee.

According to Young Shin Lee, during her father’s stay in Gimpo, she noticed that his mental condition was getting much worse.

She said that, on Sept. 19, 2015 she and her family attended a wedding in Seoul, leaving her father at home alone.

She said that on their way back home, they received a phone call from the owner of a coffee shop located near her parents’ home.

The coffee shop owner said Lee came to the store with a knife, yelling and screaming that he was going to kill his family.

Young Shin Lee said the coffee shop owner also stated that their father had damaged the store, yelled at them, and threatened to take revenge on them for calling the police.

She said when her family got to the house, it was all a mess and that fecal matter was spread around.

She said she and her husband proceeded to the coffee shop, but police had already taken their father to the substation.

Young Shin Lee said police, however, called him and explained that they did not want them to come to the station because their father was still acting aggressive, throwing chairs and yelling.

She said police could tell something was wrong and did not even consider putting her father in jail.

Young Shin Lee submitted a copy of the police report to Superior Court.

She also disclosed that on Sept. 18, 2015, her father kicked her mother until she fell to the floor. She said he stomped on her mother, and then threw an electric fan at her.

Young Shin Lee also stated that one day, her father touched the genital area of a minor girl, causing the child to shout and cry.

She said she heard that her father arrived on Saipan last Feb. 3, but she has not been able to see him.

Torres told Saipan Tribune on Tuesday that Byung Deuk Lee is fine and that his purported incompetence is greatly exaggerated and without basis.

Banes stated in the lawsuit that it was Ji Sook Lee who removed Lee from hospital in South Korea, where he was diagnosed with Alzheimer, and kept him away from his family, then traveled to Saipan to control all of his businesses and property.

Among Lee’s businesses on Saipan are Seoul One Korean Restaurant and Shinsen Japanese Restaurant.