Winston Lee, one of seven Cornell fraternity brothers accused in a gang-rape lawsuit, comes from a powerful South Korean family that once mixed with Bill Clinton, and still has not been charged with a crime.
New York Post reporting identifies Winston Lee as one of the seven men named in a lawsuit by a fellow Cornell student known as Jane Doe, who alleges she was gang raped during an hours-long episode tied to Chi Phi.
Lee has denied wrongdoing. Cornell suspended him for two years. None of the accused men have been charged with a crime. Yet New York Attorney General Letitia James has already labeled the accuser a “survivor” and moved in as special prosecutor, a dual role Lee’s lawyers say destroys any claim of neutrality.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit describes a night that stretched toward dawn at Cornell. Jonathan Newell sent a Snapchat message reading “free p, y” to a “Chi Phi Actives” chat group. Winston Lee answered “CHI PHIII,” then headed upstairs, the filing states.
There, Lee and Matthew Ingalls allegedly took Jane Doe to another room for what the suit calls the final threesome of the night, ending around 5:45 a.m. The accusation against Lee includes snorting ketamine off her and forcing oral sex.
The day after the alleged incident, Doe texted Newell: “I don’t think we should feel any shame.... Our body our choice.” Her lawyer later called that message part of a shift from denial to acceptance.
Lee told Cornell investigators the sexual contact was consensual. He has hired a high-profile law firm previously linked to the sex cases of Sean “Diddy” Combs and Harvey Weinstein. He remains enrolled this semester in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, according to an Ivy directory.
On social media, Attorney General Letitia James called Jane Doe a “survivor” and said, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.” No criminal charges had been filed against Lee or the other accused men.
That public verdict is now the center of a court fight. On Oct. 9, Lee’s attorney Teny Geragos filed to strip James of her special-prosecutor role. Gillio Lopes, another of the accused men, joined the push.
Geragos wrote:
"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."
James had already chosen a side in public. Lee’s team argues she cannot fairly investigate men she has already branded guilty.
Lee’s family story runs straight through South Korean power and old Washington photo lines. His grandfather, Lee Hong-koo, served as South Korea’s prime minister from 1994 to 1995 and as ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2000 during Bill Clinton’s presidency. The family is described as descendants of Korea’s former royal line.
In 2000, Lee Hong-koo and Clinton posed for photos at a Korean War Memorial ceremony in Washington marking the war’s 50th anniversary. In 2005, the former prime minister invited Clinton for bibimbap at a Seoul hotel while Clinton promoted his autobiography. Clinton was described as a “huge fan” of the dish.
Lee Hong-koo died in May. Winston served as chief mourner at a high-profile Seoul funeral, overseeing key rites, greeting guests, and receiving condolences. Photos showed him in white gloves holding his grandfather’s portrait.
Winston’s father, Barton Lee, is the former prime minister’s only son. He is a Yale-educated investment banker and serves as managing director and head of Asia at EIG in Hong Kong.
His mother, Ji Young Hwang, is president of the Korean Women’s Association of Hong Kong, a nonprofit officially recognized by the South Korean government. Its stated mission includes “supporting women’s integration and personal growth.” After the scandal broke, the group deleted its Instagram page.
A popular Hong Kong Instagram account, Cantonese Lesson Daily, did not let that pass quietly:
"Shutting down their Instagram account feels like a move to protect one of their own rather than stand by their mission."
The same account added:
"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 himself attended the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, described as an ultra-posh boarding school costing $150,000 a year. Sources described the family as consumed with shame.
Cornell imposed a two-year suspension on Lee. University investigators interviewed him. The criminal system has not followed with charges against any of the seven.
That gap matters. A civil lawsuit and a campus code process are not the same as a prosecutor proving a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. James stepped in anyway, after publicly embracing the accuser’s account and condemning what Doe “has been forced to endure.”
Lee’s filing forces a basic question into the open: Can the state’s top lawyer investigate men she has already judged in public? Geragos says no. James’s own words are the evidence he cites.
Presumption of innocence is not a slogan for easy cases. It is the rule for hard ones, especially when the accused remain uncharged and the prosecutor has already picked a team.
