South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck. international

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae Myung was attacked with an unknown object this Tuesday during a visit to the port city of Busan in the south-east of the country, and after regaining consciousness he was taken to hospital with a neck wound. Police have not reported the condition of Lee, 59, although local news reports suggest his life is out of danger.

Lee, of the Democratic Party, was stabbed in the left side of the neck at about 10:27 a.m. (2:27 a.m. in mainland Spain) during a meeting with reporters after touring the construction of a new airport on Gedeokdo Island . According to images captured by South Korean television cameras broadcasting the event, the attacker was making his way through a crowd of supporters, believed to be asking for autographs, before he ran towards them and killed about 20 or More than that number attacked him with sharp weapons. Length 30 centimeters, according to witnesses quoted by local media.

Lee’s condition has been stabilized after the attack and he has been taken to a nearby hospital. At the time of the transfer, the politician was still conscious, although bleeding continued, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. The attacker, who is around 60 years old, was detained at the scene, Yonhap agency reports. As of noon, police in South Korea have not provided any details about the motive for the attack.

Lee, who was mayor of the southern city of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi, the country’s most populous province, was scheduled to visit the residence of former South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2017-2022) and have lunch together.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his “deep concern” for Lee’s safety and ordered relevant authorities to investigate the attack. Presidential spokesman Kim Soo Kyung said, “Such violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances in our society.”

The opposition leader is not currently a member of the country’s legislature, but is expected to run in the next general election in April 2024 and the presidential election in 2027. In 2022, he lost the presidential election. Less than one percentage point more than the conservative Yun.

Since then, he has been accused of corruption and breach of trust, and the Justice Department is investigating his alleged involvement in an urban corruption scandal in which money raised may have been used to finance a presidential campaign. Lee has denied all charges and went on a 19-day hunger strike in protest, during which he accused President Yoon of using the criminal justice system to intimidate his political opponents. Although he has not been arrested, he will still face several trials.

South Korean politics has become polarized in recent years, and as spring parliamentary elections approach, tensions are rising between supporters of Yoon and Lee. Although physical attacks are not common, the Asian nation has seen high-profile incidents of political violence in the past.

Lee’s predecessor in the Democratic Party, Song Young-gil, was attacked on the head with a hammer during a campaign rally for Lee’s presidential bid in 2022. In 2006, conservative politician Park Geun-hye, then leader of the opposition, was attacked with a knife. Face made by a man with a box cutter. Six years later, Park won the election.

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