SEOUL – South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported.
Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, is conscious and has been taken to a local university hospital, a party official and a fire official told Reuters.
Lee was attacked by an unidentified man while visiting the proposed airport site, Yonhap said. The attack left him injured about 1 cm on his neck, YTN television reported.
The attacker appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s, who was wearing a paper crown with the name Lee, news photos showed.
He approached Lee for an autograph, then suddenly lunged forward and attacked him, news reports said. The attacker was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene, Yonhap said.
A video clip on YTN television and another posted on social media platform X showed the attack, with a man lunging at Lee with his arm outstretched. Lee grinned and fell to the ground.
South Korean opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during his visit to Busan, South Korea, January 2, 2024. via REUTERS
News photos showed Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and someone else pressing a handkerchief to his neck.
President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack, saying it was an unacceptable act, his office said. He expressed deep concern for Lee and ordered the best possible care so he could recover quickly, his office said.
A former governor of Gyeonggi province, Lee narrowly lost to the conservative Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, in the 2022 presidential election.
Lee is currently on trial for alleged corruption stemming from a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul. Lee has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.
South Korean opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung falls after being attacked by unidentified men during his visit to Busan, South Korea, January 2, 2024 via REUTERS
Lee has led the main opposition party since August 2022.
South Korea’s next parliamentary election is scheduled for April.
Despite strict restrictions on gun ownership, South Korea has a history of political violence involving other weapons.
Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object at his head, causing injuries.
Then conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who went on to serve as president, was attacked at an event in 2006 with a knife and suffered cuts to her face that required surgery.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
