South Korea’s opposition chief Lee Jae-myung was stabbed within the neck Tuesday throughout a go to to the southern port metropolis of Busan.
Lee, the chief of the primary opposition Democratic Occasion, is acutely aware and was airlifted to the Pusan Nationwide College Hospital, a celebration official and a fireplace division official advised Reuters. He was attacked by an unidentified man throughout a tour of the location of a proposed airport, Yonhap reported.
The assault left a gash in Lee’s neck that’s about 1 cm lengthy, in line with YTN tv.
The suspected attacker seemed to be a person in his 50s or 60s who wore a paper crown with Lee’s identify printed on it, information pictures confirmed. He approached Lee asking for an autograph amongst a crowd of supporters earlier than he lunged ahead and attacked, video footage confirmed. The assailant was shortly subdued and arrested on the scene.
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South Korean opposition chief Lee Jae-myung is seen after he was injured in Busan, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Sohn Hyung-joo/Yonhap through AP)
The assailant was refusing to reply police questions on his motives, the every day Busan Ilbo reported.
Video clips aired on YTN tv and social media confirmed the assault through which a person was seen lunging at Lee along with his arm stretched out, adopted by Lee grimacing and collapsing to the bottom.
Information pictures confirmed Lee mendacity on the bottom along with his eyes closed and different individuals urgent a handkerchief in opposition to the facet of his neck.
About two dozen police officers had been responding on the scene.
President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the assault, calling it unacceptable, in line with his workplace. The president expressed deep concern for Lee and requested for him to obtain the most effective care, so he might make a speedy restoration.
Lee, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, narrowly misplaced the 2022 presidential election to the conservative Yoon, a former chief prosecutor. Lee has led the primary opposition celebration since August 2022.
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South Korean opposition chief Lee Jae-myung on a stretcher, is carried by rescue staff in Busan, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Ha Kyung-min/Newsis through AP)
South Korea’s subsequent parliamentary elections are scheduled for April.
Regardless of strict restrictions on gun possession, South Korea has a historical past of political violence involving different weapons.
Lee’s predecessor, Track Younger-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public occasion by an attacker who swung a blunt object in opposition to his head and induced a laceration.
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Then-conservative opposition celebration chief Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was attacked with a knife at an occasion in 2006 and suffered a gash on her face that required surgical procedure.
In 2015, then-U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant and suffered a big gash on his face whereas attending a public occasion.
Reuters contributed to this report.
