During a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung of South Korea was stabbed in the neck, according to a report by the Yonhap news agency.
According to party and fire department officials who spoke with Reuters, Lee, who came up just short in the 2022 presidential contest, is conscious and has been taken to a nearby university hospital.
Yonhap said that when Lee was visiting the location of a proposed airport, an unidentified guy attacked him. According to YTN news, the incident has left him with a 1 cm cut on his neck.
The assailant appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s, who wore a paper crown with Lee’s name on it, news photographs showed.
He approached Lee asking for an autograph, then suddenly lunged forward and attacked him, news reports said. The assailant was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene, Yonhap said.
Video clips on YTN television and another posted on the social media platform X showed the attack, with a man lunging at Lee with his arm stretched out. Lee grimaced and collapsed to the ground.
News photographs showed Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and other people pressing a handkerchief against the side of his neck.
President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack, saying it was an unacceptable act, his office said. He expressed deep concern for Lee and instructed the best care be given so he can make a speedy recovery, his office said.
According to party and fire department officials who spoke with Reuters, Lee, who came up just short in the 2022 presidential contest, is conscious and has been taken to a nearby university hospital.
Yonhap said that when Lee was visiting the location of a proposed airport, an unidentified guy attacked him. According to YTN news, the incident has left him with a 1 cm cut on his neck.
The assailant appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s, who wore a paper crown with Lee’s name on it, news photographs showed.
He approached Lee asking for an autograph, then suddenly lunged forward and attacked him, news reports said. The assailant was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene, Yonhap said.
Video clips on YTN television and another posted on the social media platform X showed the attack, with a man lunging at Lee with his arm stretched out. Lee grimaced and collapsed to the ground.
News photographs showed Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and other people pressing a handkerchief against the side of his neck.
President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack, saying it was an unacceptable act, his office said. He expressed deep concern for Lee and instructed the best care be given so he can make a speedy recovery, his office said.
