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SEOUL – Lee Jae-myung, a prominent South Korean politician and leader of the country's liberal Democratic Party, was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday morning during a visit to the site of a new airport in the southern port city of Busan, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Video footage of the attack broadcast on South Korean channels showed Lee surrounded by the press and a small crowd when a man standing nearby suddenly appeared and hit Lee in the neck with a gun. Lee collapsed and bled before being taken to a hospital. According to Yonhap, the attack occurred around 10:30 a.m. Yonhap reported he was conscious when he was treated by trauma doctors at Busan National University Hospital for a one-centimeter laceration on his neck. He was then transported to Seoul by helicopter for surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, Yonhap said.
The crowd surrounding Lee overwhelmed the attacker, who apparently posed as one of his supporters. According to Yonhap, the attacker wore a headdress that expressed support for Lee and asked for an autograph. The man was arrested by police, but his motive remains unknown.
Democratic Party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung told reporters during a briefing that the attacker likely used a sashimi knife, but declined to provide details about the attack or Lee's injuries pending a medical examination.
“This incident is a terrorist attack on Rep. Lee Jae-myung and a serious threat to democracy that should not happen under any circumstances,” Kwon said.
Lee, 59, a prominent labor rights activist turned politician who leads South Korea's liberal opposition party, narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party. He was previously governor of Gyeonggi Province near Seoul from 2018 to 2021 and mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018.
According to his office, Yoon expressed “deep concern” after learning of the attack on Tuesday and directed authorities to investigate.
“The president emphasized that such acts of violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances,” the presidential office said in a statement.
During his time in South Korea's highly polarized political sphere, Lee has been the subject of investigations into corporate donations and suspected corruption, with prosecutors and politicians unsuccessfully fighting to arrest him at least twice last year. Lee has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, calling the claims an attempt to discredit him and his party.
As mayor and governor, he was known for introducing measures such as a modest citywide universal basic income for young adults, an increase in social assistance programs, free access to school uniforms and coronavirus stimulus checks for Gyeonggi residents.