Main South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck – DW – 01/02/2024

News updated at 06:12 CET.

South Korean Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a public event in the city of Busan (about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul) this Tuesday (01/02/2024). He arrived at a hospital in the South Korean capital to undergo emergency surgery.

The incident occurred at 10:27 local time (1:27 GMT) during an event on land that will host the new Busan airport on Gadeok Island, when a man attacked the leader of the main South Korean opposition faction and Stabbed. On the left side of his neck.

In footage broadcast on South Korean television, Lee was seen on the ground while someone placed a scarf around his neck. The footage shows a man pouncing on Lee and hitting him with an object. The political leader falls and many people run to help him.

According to Yonhap agency, Lee was taken to the hospital conscious by ambulance about 20 minutes later due to significant bleeding, while the perpetrator of the attack was immediately arrested.

The attacker pretended to be a follower

According to eyewitnesses and images broadcast on television, the perpetrator of the attack approached Lee, apparently pretending to be one of his followers, and began asking for an autograph.

The man surprised the liberal politician by attacking him with an object that has not yet been identified and would be between 20 and 30 centimeters long.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling conservative People’s Power Party (PPP), have both strongly condemned the attack and called for a full investigation into what happened.

Lee lost last year’s presidential election to conservative Yun Suk Yeol.

The leader became a prominent face of his party due to his story of reform since starting out as a child laborer in a factory. However, several scandals complicated his presidential candidacy.

JC (EFE, AFP)