A man posing as a fan stabbed South Korean opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck on Tuesday as he was speaking to the media in Busan.
Lee, 59, had just visited the site of a new airport and was heading to his car when the attacker approached him and asked for his autograph. He then stabbed Lee with what appeared to be a knife, according to a witness who spoke to YTN.
Lee fell to the ground and was assisted by bystanders who applied pressure to his wound. He was taken to an ambulance and then airlifted to the Pusan National University Hospital. Yonhap reported that he was conscious and bleeding lightly.
Kwon Chil-seung, a lawmaker from Lee’s Democratic Party, condemned the attack as “an act of terror against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should never occur under any circumstances.” He said he was waiting for the medical staff’s assessment of Lee’s condition and urged a “thorough” police investigation.
Police said Lee suffered a “one-centimetre laceration on his neck” and that he “remains conscious and bleeding is minor”, according to Chosun Ilbo. They arrested the assailant, who was wearing a hat with Lee’s name on it, and subdued him on the spot.
Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon Yeol by a narrow margin. Yoon’s spokeswoman Kim Soo-kyung said he was “deeply concerned over the safety of Jae-myung upon hearing of the attack” and stressed that “our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances.”
Lee, a former child labourer who overcame a factory accident and poverty, became a popular politician by highlighting his rags-to-riches story. He is expected to run for president again in 2027 and has strong support in the polls.
However, Lee has also faced several corruption allegations. He was not arrested in September after a court rejected the prosecution’s request to detain him pending trial. He is accused of bribery, illicit dealings with North Korea, and causing losses for a city-owned company.
Lee has denied all the charges against him. He went on a hunger strike in August last year to protest the Yoon administration’s “incompetent and violent” policies. He was hospitalised on September 18 after fasting for 19 days.