Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung brutally stabbed in neck

The leader of South Korea’s Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday during a public event in the city of Busan (some 350 kilometres southeast of Seoul) and has been rushed to hospital.

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The incident took place at 10:27 local time during an event at the site of the new Busan airport on Gadeok Island, when a man lunged at the leader of South Korea’s main opposition bloc and stabbed him in the left side of the neck.

Lee was taken to hospital in a conscious state by ambulance about 20 minutes later bleeding heavily, while the perpetrator of the attack was immediately arrested, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to eyewitnesses and television reports, the perpetrator approached Lee, apparently pretending to be one of his supporters and asking for an autograph. The man then attacked the liberal politician by surprise, stabbing him with a knife about 20 centimetres long.

Looks like people are getting fed up with crooked politicians

NOW – South Korea's liberal Democratic opposition leader Lee Jae-myung stabbed in neck during press conference in Busan.

The attacker was wrestled to the ground and restrained. pic.twitter.com/QOFeb5xmmf

— Erika (@Belindagates469) January 2, 2024

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

The stab wound to Lee Jae-myung’s neck does not raise fears for his life, sources in his party, the liberal Democratic Party (DP), were quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. However, there is concern that Lee, 59, could suffer further bleeding, the sources said.

Lee’s health poses a new question mark for the DP ahead of next April’s legislative elections. In recent weeks, doubts have already been raised over whether Lee would make it to the polls as opposition leader in the face of internal pressures demanding his resignation over ongoing investigations into his alleged involvement in corruption schemes when he was mayor of Seongnam, a city on the outskirts of Seoul, and governor of Gyeonggi, the country’s most populous province.

-Thailand News (TN)