exclusive details
See more of our coverage in your search results.
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 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.
The family is among the most prominent in the South Korean expat community in Hong Kong and have been consumed with shame since an unnamed student at Cornell known only as “Jane Doe” filed a lawsuit alleging she was gang raped by a group of seven, including Winston, sources have said.
Winston’s mother, Ji Young Hwang, is president of the Korean Women’s Association of Hong Kong, a nonprofit officially recognized by the South Korean government whose mission includes “supporting women’s integration and personal growth.”
The women’s association deleted its Instagram page in the wake of the scandal, prompting even more backlash.
“Shutting down their Instagram account feels like a move to protect one of their own rather than stand by their mission,” wrote popular Hong Kong Instagram account Cantonese Lesson Daily.
“It is especially troubling given that the person involved is the president of the organization. The behavior her son is accused of is fundamentally antithetical to the core principles of any group dedicated to supporting, protecting, and empowering women.”
Winston, who attended the ultra-posh $150,000-a-year United World College of the Atlantic, a boarding school in Wales, hired the high-profile law firm that represented Sean “Diddy” Combs and Harvey Weinstein in their sex cases.
During the alleged hours-long gang rape, Winston responded “CHI PHIII” to the “free p—y” Snapchat message sent by Jonathan Newell to the “Chi Phi Actives” chat group. He then headed upstairs, where he and Matthew Ingalls allegedly took Jane Doe to another room for the final threesome of the night ending around 5:45 a.m., according to Doe’s lawsuit.
Lee is currently enrolled in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences this semester, the Ivy’s directory shows.
All the men accused by Jane Doe have denied wrongdoing, and none have been charged with a crime.
Winston said his sexual contact with Jane Doe was consensual during interviews with Cornell investigators.
The day after the alleged incident, Doe texted Newell, “I don’t think we should feel any shame. . . . Our body our choice.”
Doe’s lawyer attributed the message to “part of the processing that she was going through” from denial to acceptance.
Winston Lee is one of two accused men, along with Gillio Lopes, who has called on the judge to remove New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case after James called Jane Doe a “survivor” on social media and said, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.”
“It is the height of unfairness that an uncharged person like Mr. Lee, presumed to be innocent, should be investigated by anyone — much less the AG — who has already publicly endorsed the purported victim and concluded the accused are guilty,” his attorney, Teny Geragos, wrote in her Oct. 9 filing to have James removed.