Opposition leader is stabbed in the neck

SEOUL (AP):

South Korea’s tough-speaking liberal opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified knife-wielding man who attempted to kill him during his visit to the southeastern city of Busan on Tuesday, the police said.

Lee, 59, the head of the main opposition Democratic Party, was airlifted to a Seoul hospital after receiving emergency treatment in Busan. Lee’s party later said he was recovering at an intensive care unit at the Seoul National University Hospital following a two-hour operation.

The attack happened as Lee walked through a crowd of journalists and others after a tour of the proposed site of a new airport in Busan. The attacker approached Lee, saying he wanted his autograph, then stabbed him in the left side of his neck, senior Busan police officer Sohn Jae-han said in a briefing.

Sohn said Democratic Party officials quickly subdued the attacker. TV footage showed Lee, his eyes closed, lying on the ground as a person pressed a handkerchief to his neck. A witness, Jin Jeong-hwa, told YTN television that Lee had bled a lot.

Videos circulated on social media showed the suspect, wearing a paper crown reading “I’m Lee Jae-myung”, in a possible attempt to pose as a supporter.

Sohn said the suspect, age about 67, told investigators that he bought the 18-centimetre (seven-inch) knife online. He said the police are investigating the motive for the attack.

FORMAL ARREST

Other officers confirmed to The Associated Press that the police are expected to request that the suspect be formally arrested for alleged attempted murder, because he told investigators he intended to kill Lee.

Lee’s Democratic Party called the incident “a terrorist attack on Lee and a serious threat to democracy”. It called on the police to make a thorough, swift investigation.

At the Seoul National University Hospital, party spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung told reporters that Lee’s jugular vein was damaged and that he had a medical procedure called revascularisation. Kwon cited the hospital, whose public affairs office refused to disclose Lee’s status, citing privacy rules.

The police and emergency officials earlier said Lee was conscious after the attack and wasn’t in critical condition.

President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed deep concern about Lee’s health and ordered authorities to investigate the attack, saying such violence would not be tolerated, according to Yoon’s office.

Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by 0.7 percentage point, the narrowest margin recorded in a South Korean presidential election.