South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a working visit to the southern city of Busan on Tuesday. Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, was taken to hospital. The perpetrator was overpowered and arrested. This is what was reported by Reuters news agency.
Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to President Yoon Suk-yeol, was attacked by an unidentified man while speaking to the media on a tour of the site of a new airport. He suffered a wound of about one centimeter in his neck, according to the South Korean channel YTN. Lee was transported by fire helicopter to Pusan National University Hospital and is receiving treatment in the emergency room. According to the police, his life is not in danger, the BBC reported.
News photos showed Lee, 59, bleeding on the ground with his eyes closed as bystanders pressed a handkerchief to the side of his neck. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Lee was conscious when he was taken to hospital.
Paper crown
The attacker turned out to be a man wearing a paper crown with Lee's name on it, estimated to be in his 50s or 60s. Video footage shows the man approaching him and asking for an autograph while Lee spoke to a group of supporters and journalists. Then the man jumped forward and attacked me.
Nothing is known yet about the motives of the perpetrator. According to the Busan Ilbo newspaper, he refused to answer police questions about his motives. President Yeon Suk-yul condemned the attack.
Lee's party and the conservative Yoon Party are the two main parties in South Korea. Lee is believed to want to run for president again in 2027. He is currently on trial for alleged corruption in a construction project when he was mayor of Seongnam, a suburb of Seoul.
Physical attacks on South Korean politicians have occurred before. In March 2022, Lee's predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked while campaigning for Lee. He suffered a head injury. In 2006, Conservative Party leader and later President Park Geun-hye was attacked with a knife. She was left with a scar on her face.
