South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.
Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed on the left side of his neck as he walked with journalists on Tuesday morning answering their questions.
Citing witnesses, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported the suspect had approached Lee for an autograph pretending to be a supporter. He then attacked him with a weapon that was between 20 and 30 centimetres (7.9 – 11.8 inches) long, reports Aljazeera.
The unidentified man was arrested at the scene, the agency added.
Pictures in South Korean media showed 59-year-old Lee lying on his back on the ground with his eyes closed, as officials crowded around him and one pressed a cloth against his neck.
Yonhap said the politician was bleeding, but remained conscious. He was taken to hospital by helicopter.
Lee, who had earlier toured the site of a new airport under construction on Busan’s Gadeok Island, ran for the presidency in 2022, but lost narrowly to conservative Yoon Suk-yeol in a fiercely-fought campaign.
Yoon expressed “deep concern” at the attack on Lee and called for an immediate and thorough investigation.
Although South Korea has strict gun laws, politicians have been attacked with other weapons, and there is normally a police presence at major events involving high-profile political leaders.
Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who hit him in the head with a blunt object.
Park Geun-hye, who later became president, was attacked with a knife at an event in 2006 while she was conservative opposition party leader and needed surgery for the wound on her face.
Born into a poor farming family, Lee entered politics when was elected mayor of Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, in 2010. He worked in a factory to put himself through night school and become a human rights lawyer.
His recent career has been overshadowed by a number of scandals.
He faces trial on charges of bribery in connection with a firm that is suspected of illicitly transferring $8 million to North Korea, and is also accused of breaching his duties as Seongnam mayor after one of the city’s companies made a loss of 20 billion won ($15 million) while he was mayor.
TF
