South Korean opposition chief is stabbed within the neck. Police say attacker approached for autograph
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s tough-speaking liberal opposition chief, Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed within the neck by an unidentified knife-wielding man who tried to kill him throughout his go to to the southeastern metropolis of Busan on Tuesday, police mentioned.
Lee, 59, the pinnacle of the primary opposition Democratic Party, was airlifted to a Seoul hospital after receiving emergency therapy in Busan. Lee’s get together later mentioned he was recovering at an intensive care unit on the Seoul National University Hospital following a two-hour operation.
The assault occurred as Lee walked via a crowd of journalists and others after a tour of the proposed web site of a brand new airport in Busan. The attacker approached Lee, saying he needed his autograph, then stabbed him within the left aspect of his neck, senior Busan police officer Sohn Jae-han mentioned in a briefing.
Sohn mentioned Democratic Party officers shortly subdued the attacker earlier than cops detained him. He mentioned 41 cops had been deployed to the world for crowd management and visitors administration.
TV footage confirmed Lee, his eyes closed, mendacity on the bottom as an individual pressed a handkerchief to his neck. A witness, Jin Jeong-hwa, instructed YTN tv that Lee had bled quite a bit.
Videos circulated on social media confirmed the suspect, carrying a paper crown studying “I’m Lee Jae-myung,” in a doable try and pose as a supporter.
Sohn mentioned the suspect, aged about 67, instructed investigators that he purchased the 7-inch knife on-line. He mentioned police are investigating the motive for the assault.
Other officers confirmed to The Associated Press that police are anticipated to request that the suspect be formally arrested for alleged tried homicide as a result of he instructed investigators he meant to kill Lee.
Lee’s Democratic Party known as the incident “a terrorist attack on Lee and a serious threat to democracy.” It known as on police to make a via, swift investigation.
At the Seoul National University Hospital, get together spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung instructed reporters that Lee’s jugular vein was broken and that he had a medical process known as revascularization. Kwon cited the hospital, whose public affairs workplace refused to reveal Lee’s standing, citing privateness guidelines.
Police and emergency officers earlier mentioned Lee was acutely aware after the assault and wasn’t in important situation.
President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed deep concern about Lee’s well being and ordered authorities to analyze the assault, saying such violence wouldn’t be tolerated, in accordance with Yoon’s workplace.
Lee misplaced the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by 0.7 share level, the narrowest margin recorded in a South Korean presidential election.
Recent public surveys indicated Lee and his major conservative rival Han Dong-hoon, a former justice minister, are the 2 early favorites to succeed Yoon as president when his single five-year time period ends in 2027.
Since his defeat, Lee has been a harsh critic of Yoon’s main insurance policies. Last yr, Lee held a 24-day starvation strike to protest what he known as Yoon’s failure to oppose Japan’s launch of handled radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima nuclear energy, his dealing with of the nation’s post-pandemic economic system and his hard-line insurance policies on North Korea.
Lee faces an array of corruption allegations, together with that he offered illegal favors to a non-public investor who reaped large earnings from a doubtful housing venture within the metropolis of Seongnam, the place Lee was mayor for a decade till 2018. Lee has denied authorized wrongdoing and accused Yoon’s authorities of pursuing a political vendetta.
Last September, a South Korean courtroom denied an arrest warrant for Lee over the allegations, however Lee faces a seamless investigation by prosecutors. The courtroom listening to was organized after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to raise Lee’s immunity to arrest, a transfer that mirrored rising divisions inside his Democratic Party over his authorized troubles.
Lee, who additionally served as governor of Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, is understood for his outspoken fashion. His supporters see him as an anti-elitist hero who might reform institution politics, eradicate corruption and clear up rising financial inequality. Critics view him as a populist who depends on stoking divisions and demonizing his conservative opponents.
Other violence in opposition to high-profile figures has occurred in South Korea lately.
In March 2022, Song Young-gil, then the chief of the Democratic Party, was assaulted by a person wielding a hammer throughout a rally for Lee forward of the presidential vote. Song was handled for stitches however prevented critical harm.
In 2015, then-U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was slashed within the face and arm by an anti-American activist. The assault required 80 stitches to shut the reduce on Lippert’s face.
In 2006, Park Geun-hye, then a conservative opposition chief, was knifed by a person with a field cutter throughout an election rally. She was given 60 stitches to shut a 4-inch gash on her face. Park was elected president in 2012.
