The chief of the South Korean opposition occasion Lee Jae-myung was stabbed within the neck by an assailant in Busan on Tuesday.
Lee was surrounded by journalists and supporters at a development web site within the southern port metropolis of Busan when a person, pretending to be his supporter, lunged and struck him within the neck, South Korean tv channels confirmed.
He was bleeding however aware as he was rushed to an area college hospital, the Yonhap news company reported, earlier than being flown to the capital Seoul for surgical procedure, based on an official from his occasion.
Police had been seen wrestling the assailant, who wore a hat with a pro-Lee slogan, to the bottom. He was arrested on the scene, Yonhap reported.
Lee was “walking to his car while talking to reporters when the attacker asked for his autograph,” a witness instructed native broadcaster YTN, including that Lee was then struck with what “looked like a knife.”
The 59-year-old was seen collapsing to the bottom as individuals rushed to help him, certainly one of whom pressed a handkerchief on Lee’s neck earlier than emergency responders carried him to an ambulance.
“This is an act of terror against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should never occur under any circumstances,” Kwon Chil-seung, an MP from Lee’s Democratic Party, instructed reporters outdoors the hospital in Busan.
Lee was later flown to the capital, the place Kwon mentioned he would bear surgical procedure on the Seoul National University Hospital.
Police in Busan mentioned Lee suffered a “1-centimeter laceration on his neck” and that he “remains conscious and bleeding is minor,” based on South Korean news outlet Chosun Ilbo.
The attacker has not said his motive, based on police officers cited by Yonhap.
Presidential contender
Lee misplaced in 2022 to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol within the tightest presidential race in South Korea’s historical past.
Yoon expressed “deep concern over the safety of Lee Jae-myung upon hearing of the attack,” his spokeswoman Kim Soo-kyung mentioned.
“Yoon emphasized our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances.”
A former baby manufacturing facility employee who suffered an industrial accident as a teenage faculty drop-out, Lee rose to political stardom partly by enjoying up his rags-to-riches story.
He is broadly anticipated to run for president once more in 2027, and up to date polls have indicated that he stays a robust contender.
But Lee’s bid for the highest workplace has been overshadowed by a string of scandals.
He averted arrest in September when a court docket dismissed a request from the prosecution for him to be taken into custody pending trial on numerous corruption expenses.
Lee nonetheless faces trial on expenses of bribery in reference to a agency that’s suspected of illicitly transferring $8 million to North Korea.
He can be accused of breaching his duties, allegedly leading to a lack of 20 billion received ($15 million) for an organization owned by Seongnam metropolis throughout his time period as its mayor.
Lee has denied all allegations in opposition to him.
In August final 12 months, he launched a starvation strike in opposition to what he referred to as the Yoon authorities’s “incompetent and violent” insurance policies.
He was hospitalized due to fasting-related illnesses after not consuming for 19 days.
Source: www.dailysabah.com