According to local accounts, South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked on Tuesday by an unidentified attacker when he was speaking with media in the port city of Busan, which is in the southeast.
At around 10.27 a.m., the 59-year-old head of the Democratic Party was at the location of a new airport on Gadeok Island, Busan. the event happened at local time, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Social media footage showed Mr. Lee strolling among the reporters when a guy abruptly walked up to him, seemed to be asking for his autograph, and then stabbed him with a knife.
Even after Mr. Lee fell to the ground, he remained aware. He was stabbed on the left side of his neck, forcing him to bleed, according to Yonhap News Agency.
A fire department helicopter was used to transfer Mr. Lee to Pusan National University Hospital after the incident so he could get emergency medical attention for his wounds.
At the scene, the attacker—who looked to be wearing a paper crown with Mr. Lee's name—was taken into custody. His name has not been disclosed by the authorities, and an inquiry is still being conducted.
According to a statement issued by his office, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has expressed "deep concern" about Mr. Lee's safety and directed the appropriate authorities to look into the incident.
“The president emphasized that our society should not tolerate such acts of violence under any circumstances,” the statement reads.
According to news photos, the attacker looked to be a man in his 50s or 60s who was wearing a paper crown with Lee's name on it.
Video footage shows the guy approaching Lee as he was speaking in front of a large group of reporters and fans, asking for an autograph before lunging forward and attacking him.
A fan of Lee named Jin Jeong-hwa, who was present to livestream the event, said Reuters that two dozen police officers were in attendance.
The video demonstrated how fast men, including police officers, overpowered the attacker.
As to the newspaper Busan Ilbo, he was not responding to inquiries from the police on his intentions.
A guy was seen lunging toward Lee with his arm outstretched in two different video clips that were shown on YTN television and the social media site X. Lee winced and fell to the floor.
Images from the news showed Lee bleeding and laying on the ground with his eyes closed, as onlookers held a cloth to his neck.
Despite having severe gun control laws, South Korea has a history of political violence. While police are always present at significant events, tight security protection is not typically provided for political leaders.
In 2022, Song Young-gil, the predecessor of Mr. Lee, had a cut on his head after being attacked by someone brandishing a blunt instrument against him at a public gathering.
Then, in 2006, Park Geun-hye, the head of the conservative opposition party and future president, was stabbed during a function, requiring surgery to repair a cut on her face.
After assuming power in a military coup, her father, Park Chung-hee, served as president for 16 years before being shot and assassinated in 1979 during an inebriated private dinner by his enraged spy chief.
2015 saw the then-U.S. Mark Lippert, the ambassador to South Korea, was assaulted and left with a deep cut on his face while attending a public function.
Mr. Lee, who was defeated by Mr. Yoon in the 2022 presidential contest, managed to avoid detention last year when a judge rejected the prosecution's request to detain him on corruption-related allegations, stating that there was no obvious danger that he would tamper with the evidence.
The criminal allegations against him, however, are still pending. The head of the opposition has insisted that the accusations against him are a part of a "political conspiracy" to discredit him and has denied any wrongdoing.
During his tenure as mayor of Seongnam City from 2014 to 2015, Mr. Lee has been charged with violating his duties by allegedly providing unfair treatment to a private developer involved in a real estate project that caused losses of around 20 billion won ($15 million).
In addition, the lawmaker is charged with arranging an unauthorized transfer of $8 million to North Korea during his tenure as Gyeonggi Province governor in 2019–2020 in order to arrange a trip to the country.
The National Assembly election in South Korea is scheduled for April 2024.
