South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked by an unidentified assailant while speaking to reporters in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday, according to local reports.
The 59-year-old Democratic Party leader was visiting the site of a new airport on Gadeok Island, Busan, at around 10.27 a.m. local time when the incident occurred, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Footage shared on social media showed Mr. Lee walking in a crowd of reporters when a man suddenly approached him, seemingly attempting to get his autograph, and then proceeded to strike him with a knife.
Mr. Lee collapsed on the ground but maintained his consciousness. Yonhap News Agency reported that he was stabbed on the left side of his neck, causing him to bleed.
Following the attack, Mr. Lee was airlifted using a fire department helicopter to Pusan National University Hospital to receive immediate medical treatment for his injury.
Party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung, speaking outside the hospital, said medical staff suspected damage to a jugular vein that carries blood from the head to the heart.
“There is concern that there could be large haemorrhage or additional haemorrhage, according to medical staff,” Mr. Kwon said.
The assailant, who appeared to be wearing a paper crown with Mr. Lee’s name on it, was arrested at the scene.
A Busan police official, Son Je-han, told a news briefing the assailant was born in 1957 and used an 18-cm knife bought online. He did not identify the suspect and said the motive was being investigated.
Local media reported the police will seek the charge of attempted murder against the assailant.
“The president emphasized that our society should not tolerate such acts of violence under any circumstances,” the statement reads.
But the criminal charges against him still stand. The opposition leader has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the charges against him are part of a “political conspiracy” to undermine him.
Mr. Lee has been accused of breaching his duty while serving as Seongnam City’s mayor between 2014 and 2015, allegedly extending unlawful treatment to a private developer in a real estate project that resulted in approximately 20 billion won ($15 million) in losses.
The politician is also accused of soliciting a company to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea while he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province between 2019 and 2020 to organize a visit to the North.
South Korea is slated to hold its National Assembly election in April 2024.
History of Political Violence
South Korea has a history of political violence, although it has strict restrictions on gun possession. There is a police presence at major events, but political leaders are not normally under close security protection.Mr. Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head, causing a laceration.
Then conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was stabbed at an event in 2006 and suffered a gash on her face that required surgery.
Her father, Park Chung-hee, who was president for 16 years after taking power in a military coup, was shot and killed by his spy chief in 1979 at a drunken private dinner.
In 2015, then U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face.
