Seoul, South Korea CNN –
South Korea's main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked with a knife on Tuesday during a visit to the southern city of Busan, leaving him covered in blood but conscious, party officials said.
According to a Democratic Party official, Lee was traveling at the construction site of the new Gadeokdo airport when he suffered a blow to the left side of his neck while speaking to a crowd of reporters.
Lee is “in a conscious state” in the hospital, said Hong Ik-pyo, his party's parliamentary group leader, adding that a detailed assessment of Lee's condition and treatment plan would take time.
Footage of the brazen attack, captured live on television during the press conference, showed an unknown man at the front of the crowd suddenly jumping on Lee and punching him in the neck, causing Lee to collapse backwards.
The attacker was then pulled to the ground and held by several people.
Photos showed Lee lying on the floor with his eyes closed and holding a tissue to his neck. Small amounts of blood were visible in some photos.
According to the presidential office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed “deep concern” for Lee's safety after the attack.
Yoon stressed that such violence “should not be tolerated under any circumstances” and ordered police to quickly investigate, the office said.
Democratic Party leader Hong urged party members to remain calm and not make political interpretations of the incident.
South Korea's politics have been marked by deep polarization, particularly in recent years when former President Park Geun-hye was jailed on abuse of power and bribery charges before being pardoned and released in 2021.
Lee, 59, a liberal former provincial governor, narrowly lost to Yoon of the conservative People Power Party in the March 2022 presidential election.
Five months later, Lee became chairman of the Democratic Party and is preparing his party for the April general election.
There have been high-profile incidents of political violence in South Korea in the past.
Lee's predecessor in the Democratic Party, Song Young-gil, was attacked by a man with a hammer to the head during a campaign rally for Lee's 2022 presidential bid.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Democratic Party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung called the attack an “act of terrorism” against Lee and “a serious threat to democracy.”
This is breaking news. There's more to come.