Leader of South Korea’s biggest opposition party Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday while on a visit to the southern city of Busan; party officials reported that although he was bleeding, he was still awake.
Democratic Party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung claimed that Lee was attacked while touring the Gadeokdo New Airport building site and speaking with reporters. The attack left the politician with a 1-centimeter laceration on the left side of his neck.
Kwon quoted medical professionals as saying that Lee had “suspected damage to his jugular vein” and that they were worried he may bleed more.
After being moved from Busan to Seoul National University Hospital, “he will quickly undergo surgery,” the spokesperson stated, calling the attempt on Lee’s life “a serious threat to democracy” and an act of “terrorism.”
Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader for the Democratic Party, had earlier in the day stated that Lee was “in a conscious state” in the hospital.
The heinous assault was caught on camera at the press conference. An unnamed individual in the front of the audience was seen jumping at Lee and striking him in the neck, causing Lee to fall backward.
The assailant was subsequently subdued and confined by multiple individuals.
Lee was seen in photos lying on the ground with a scarf around his neck and his eyes closed. Some of the pictures showed little amounts of blood.
Following the incident, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea reportedly voiced “deep concern” for Lee’s safety, according to the presidential office.
According to the office, Yoon stressed that this kind of assault “should not be tolerated under any circumstances” and gave the police immediate instructions to look into it.
Hong, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, urged party members to maintain composure and avoid drawing political conclusions from the event.
Deep polarisation has split South Korea’s politics, especially in the last few years, when former President Park Geun-hye was imprisoned on allegations of bribery and abuse of power before being pardoned and released in 2021.
In the March 2022 presidential election, Yoon of the conservative People Power Party narrowly defeated the 59-year-old liberal former province governor Lee.
Five months later, Lee was named Democratic Party leader, and since then, he has been preparing his party for the April parliamentary elections.
Political violence has already resulted in high-profile instances in South Korea.
At a 2022 presidential campaign rally, Song Young-gil, Lee’s Democratic Party predecessor, was struck in the head by a man brandishing a hammer.
As chair of the Grand National Party, the nation’s major opposition party at the time, Park, the former president, was stabbed with a knife during a party event in Seoul in 2006. Her face was slashed four inches deep, requiring sixty stitches to close, and she was unable to speak normally for several weeks.
