Accident – Death – Obituary News :

South Korean Opposition Leader Lee Jae-Myung Stabbed in Neck, Airlifted to Hospital

TAIPEI, Taiwan — South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung was airlifted to a hospital in Seoul on Tuesday, after being stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

The incident occurred at the construction site of a new airport, where Lee was meeting with reporters. A man approached him, requesting an autograph. Videos circulating online captured the moment when Lee was smiling, just before the assailant suddenly plunged a large knife into the left side of his neck.

Witnesses quickly rushed to Lee’s aid, applying pressure to his neck with a handkerchief to control the bleeding. He was then promptly transported to Pusan National University Hospital. However, due to concerns of potential severe bleeding around his jugular vein, he was later transferred by air to Seoul National University Hospital for surgery.

Fortunately, Lee remained conscious throughout the ordeal, and his life is not considered to be in immediate danger, according to health officials and police.

The suspect, described as a man in his 60s or 70s, was apprehended at the scene by the police. He was wearing a paper crown with Lee’s name printed on it. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the attacker has confessed to attempting to kill Lee. The authorities intend to charge him with attempted murder.

Lee Jae-Myung, a prominent liberal lawmaker, narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol. In response to the attack, President Yoon Suk Yul emphasized that such acts of violence must never be tolerated under any circumstances. He has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and requested that Lee receives the utmost care available.

The Democratic Party, to which Lee belongs, denounced the attack as a “terrorist act” and a “serious threat to democracy.”

Lee, aged 59, is a divisive figure in South Korean politics. In September, he concluded a 24-day hunger strike demanding changes to what he perceived as the failed policies of his rival, Yoon.

Last year, Lee faced corruption-related charges, including allegations linked to a property development scandal. However, he managed to avoid imprisonment after a court rejected a warrant for his arrest.

Lee is well-known for his advocacy of populist policies. During his tenure as the mayor of Gyeonggi, South Korea’s most populous province surrounding Seoul, he championed a form of universal basic income, which proposed regular government payments to citizens.

Instances of political violence in South Korea have been infrequent in recent decades, although sporadic attacks have occurred. In 2022, Song Young-gil, the then-leader of the Democratic Party, was assaulted by an elderly man wielding a hammer during his campaign, just two days before the election.

In a separate incident in 2006, Park Geun-hye, the former leader of the conservative party who would later become president, was attacked by a man with a box cutter during a rally in Seoul.

It is worth noting that Park’s father, authoritarian President Park Chung-hee, was assassinated in 1979 by the head of the country’s intelligence agency.

Richard Green contributed to this report.

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