South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked with a knife by an unknown man on Tuesday (see video above). The perpetrator stabbed the politician in the neck as he drove around the site of a planned airport in Busan. Lee had to be treated in hospital.
The injury is not life-threatening. The attacker was overpowered and arrested on the spot, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. The perpetrator is said to be approximately 50 to 60 years old. He approached Lee and asked him for an autograph, they said. Then he suddenly attacked the opposition leader. Lee is a former governor of Gyeonggi province and narrowly lost in the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon, a former attorney general. Since August 2022, he has been the head of South Korea’s largest opposition party.
History of political violence
Although the conditions for gun ownership are strict, the East Asian country has a history of political violence. Police are present at major events, but political leaders are typically not under strict security protection. “This kind of violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances,” President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said of the latest incident.
The embattled Lee is currently on trial for alleged bribery related to a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam, near Seoul. He has denied any wrongdoing. South Korea’s next general election is scheduled for April.
Source: Krone
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