Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party, was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern coastal city of Busan on Tuesday, according to the Korean news agency Yonhap.
The incident occurred as Lee was speaking with reporters after inspecting the site of the new Gadeokdo Airport in Busan. He fell, bleeding from a wound on the left side of his neck, following an attack by an unidentified man. The assailant was arrested at the scene, as reported by Yonhap.
Lee Jae-myung, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol. Currently, he is on trial for alleged bribery during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam near Seoul, charges which he has denied. This stabbing incident in Busan is part of a history of political violence in South Korea, a country with strict restrictions on gun possession but where political leaders are not normally under close security protection.
This attack has been widely condemned, including by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who called it an “act of terror” and a “serious threat to democracy.” Medical staff at Pusan National University Hospital initially expressed concern about potential large hemorrhage due to the damage to Lee’s jugular vein. However, it was later determined that his condition was not life-threatening based on emergency treatment and a CT scan.
In response to recent events, South Korea’s national police agency has committed to enhancing the security measures for important figures to prevent recurrences of such incidents.
South Korean politics have been marred by significant divisions between the conservative and liberal factions, a polarization that has intensified in recent times. This divide was highlighted by the imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye on charges of abuse of power and bribery, followed by her pardon and release in 2021.
The country has a history of notable political violence. For instance, Song Young-gil, who led the Democratic Party before Lee, was assaulted with a hammer during a campaign event supporting Lee’s presidential candidacy in 2022.
In another high-profile case, Park Geun-hye, while leading the main opposition Grand National Party in 2006, was the victim of a knife attack at a rally in Seoul. The attack left her with a significant facial injury requiring numerous stitches and affected her ability to speak normally for several weeks.
Moreover, in 2015, the then U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was seriously injured in a knife attack during a political event where he was scheduled to speak. He sustained a severe facial wound, necessitating a substantial number of stitches. The perpetrator of this attack was subsequently sentenced to a long prison term.
