The leader of the South Korean opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, has been stabbed in the neck on Tuesday by an assailant who posed as his supporter.
The attack took place at a construction site in Busan, where Lee was surrounded by journalists and supporters. The assailant, a man in his 60s, used an 18-centimetre knife purchased online, as confirmed by Busan police.
Lee, bleeding but conscious, was swiftly taken to a local university hospital and later flown to Seoul for surgery. The motive of the attacker is under investigation. The incident is condemned as an act of terror and a threat to democracy by Lee’s Democratic Party.
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Despite the assault, Lee, a presidential contender, is expected to undergo surgery and continue his political journey.
“This is an act of terror against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should never occur under any circumstances,” Kwon Chil-seung, an MP from Lee’s Democratic Party, told reporters outside the hospital in Busan.
– Presidential contender –
Lee lost in 2022 to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol in the tightest presidential race in South Korea’s history.
Yoon expressed “deep concern over the safety of Lee Jae-myung upon hearing of the attack”, his spokeswoman Kim Soo-kyung said.
“Yoon emphasised our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances.”
