Crime - South Korea's opposition leader Lee injured in knife attack
South Korea's left-wing liberal opposition leader Lee Jae Myung has been stabbed and injured by a man during a public appearance. The 59-year-old Lee fell to the ground with a bleeding wound to his neck, as South Korean broadcasters reported on Tuesday. After receiving first aid at the scene of the attack in Busan, he was initially taken to a hospital in the south-eastern coastal metropolis. The attacker was arrested and is being investigated for attempted murder, according to the police. According to the national news agency Yonhap, the police seized an 18-centimeter-long knife as the murder weapon.
President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his dismay after the attack on his defeated rival in the presidential election two years ago. The spokesman for the Democratic Party (DP), of which Lee is chairman, spoke of an act of terrorism. The incident took place three months before the parliamentary elections in South Korea.
Lee was later flown by helicopter to a hospital in Seoul where he underwent surgery. The injury to a vein was not life-threatening, the public TV station KBS reported, citing doctors.
Television footage showed how the alleged attacker was overpowered by several people immediately after the attack. The incident occurred when Lee was answering questions from journalists after visiting a construction site for a new airport on Gadeok Island, which belongs to Busan.
Corruption allegations rejected
The motive for the crime was initially unclear. According to the police, the suspect was born in 1957. He reportedly posed as a supporter of the DP chief and wore a paper crown with the inscription: "I am Lee Jae Myung". He reportedly approached the politician asking for his autograph when he suddenly attacked Lee.
According to his office, President Yoon ordered a rapid investigation into the background of the attack. "Such acts of violence cannot be tolerated under any circumstances," Yoo was quoted as saying. In the 2022 presidential election, Lee was only narrowly defeated by the right-wing conservative Yoon as the DP candidate. Lee had set himself the goal of renewing the politics of the strongly divided country. He also campaigned for the introduction of an unconditional basic income.
The election campaign at the time was overshadowed by an act of violence against Lee's predecessor as party leader, Song Young Gil, shortly before the election. Song was hit on the head with a solid object by a man and injured in the process. In May 2006, the then opposition leader and later President Park Geun Hye was injured in the face in a knife attack.
Lee Jae Myung is the subject of two trials on charges of corruption in several cases and violation of the election law. The allegations of corruption date back to a time when Lee was still mayor of the city of Seongnam. Lee has denied the allegations of corruption and accused the government camp of political conspiracy.
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Source: www.stern.de
