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SEOUL — Lee Jae-myung, a prominent South Korean political figure who heads the country’s liberal Democratic Party, was stabbed in the neck Tuesday morning during a visit to the site of a new airport in the southern port city of Busan, Yonhap news agency reported.
Video footage of the attack aired on South Korean broadcast stations showed Lee surrounded by press and a small crowd when a man standing nearby suddenly appeared to strike Lee in the neck with a weapon. Lee collapsed and was bleeding before he was taken to a hospital.
The attack happened around 10:30 a.m., according to Yonhap, which reported that he was conscious while being treated by trauma doctors at Busan National University Hospital for a 1-centimeter laceration to the neck. He was then taken to Seoul via helicopter for surgery at Seoul National University Hospital.
The crowd around Lee overwhelmed the attacker, who appeared to be posing as one of his supporters. The assailant was wearing a headpiece that expressed support for Lee and asked for an autograph, according to Yonhap. The man was apprehended by police, and his motive remains unknown.
Democratic Party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung told reporters during a briefing that the attacker was believed to have used a sashimi knife. Medical staff suspected Lee may have damage to his jugular vein and were concerned about excessive bleeding, he said.
“This incident is a terror attack to Representative Lee Jae-myung and a serious threat to democracy that should not happen under any circumstances,” Kwon said.
Lee, 59, a prominent labor lawyer turned politician who heads South Korea’s liberal opposition party, lost the 2022 presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party by the narrowest margin in South Korea’s democratic history. He formerly served as governor of Gyeonggi province, around Seoul, from 2018 to 2021, as well as mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018.
Yoon expressed “deep concern” after learning of the attack on Tuesday, according to his office, and ordered authorities to investigate.
“The president emphasized that such acts of violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances,” the presidential office said in a statement.
South Korean politics have become increasingly divisive and bitter ahead of April’s parliamentary elections, in which the Democratic Party’s majority is at stake. Sweeping investigations into Lee’s business dealings and decisions from his time as Gyeonggi governor have been among lightning-rod issues. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and described the claims as an attempt to discredit him and his party.
Last year, Lee faced an arrest warrant on corruption charges that threatened to ruin his political career. He held a 24-day hunger strike in protest of what he called policy failures by the Yoon government. A South Korean court rejected the warrant in September and he avoided jailtime.
As mayor and governor, Lee was known for supporting policies such as a modest citywide universal basic income for young adults, increases in social welfare programs, free access to school uniforms and coronavirus stimulus checks for Gyeonggi residents.