Opposition Party Leader Stabbed In The Neck In South Korea
![Lee Jae-myung was on a visit to Busan when he was attacked [Yonhap via Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/hararelive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK.webp?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1)
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been airlifted to hospital in Seoul after he was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.
Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed on the left side of his neck by a man who lunged out of the crowd as he was walking with journalists on Tuesday morning. Emergency officials have said he is not in a critical condition, although his exact status is unknown.
Pictures in South Korean media showed 59-year-old Lee lying on his back on the ground with his eyes closed, as officials crowded around him and one pressed a cloth against his neck.
Democratic Party party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung said the politician was being flown to Seoul National University in the capital, after receiving emergency treatment at Pusan National University Hospital.
Medical staff at the latter hospital 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,” Kwon said.
The attack, seen in video footage and photographs, unfolded while Lee was touring the site of a proposed airport in Busan.
The assailant, wearing a paper crown with Lee’s name on it, initially approached the politician asking for an autograph. He then attacked him with a weapon that was between 20 and 30cm (8 and 12 inches) long.
Arrested at the scene, the assailant has refused to answer police questions about his motives, according to daily Busan Ilbo.
Bricks and knives
A former governor of Gyeonggi province, Lee ran for the presidency in 2022 but lost narrowly to conservative Yoon Suk-yeol in a fiercely fought campaign.
Yoon expressed “deep concern” at the attack on the opposition leader and called for an immediate and thorough investigation.
![South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol condemned the attack on his rival [Daewoung Kim/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/hararelive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-11-28T230600Z_821086555_RC2VUX9I5V87_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHKOREA-POLITICS.webp?resize=708%2C526&ssl=1)
Although South Korea has strict gun laws, politicians have been attacked with other weapons, and there is normally a police presence at major events involving high-profile political leaders.
Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who hit him in the head with a blunt object.
Park Geun-hye, who later became president, was attacked with a knife at an event in 2006 while she was conservative opposition party leader and needed surgery for the wound on her face.
Rags to riches
Born into a poor farming family, Lee entered politics when was elected mayor of Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, in 2010.
He worked in a factory to put himself through night school and become a human rights lawyer. He has used his rags-to-riches story to help power his political rise.
His recent career has been overshadowed by a number of scandals.
He faces trial on charges of bribery in connection with a firm that is suspected of illicitly transferring $8m to North Korea and is also accused of breaching his duties as Seongnam mayor after one of the city’s companies made a loss of 20 billion won ($15m) while he was mayor.
