New Delhi: Lee Jaemyung, who heads South Korea’s main opposition party, was stabbed in the neck today, January 2.
Lee was attacked by an unidentified assailant while he was touring the site of a proposed airport in Busan. The assailant, reported as a man in his 60s, was immediately arrested. The attacker hurt Lee’s neck. Photographs on social media show him lying down with his eyes closed. He has been rushed to the Busan National University Hospital.
Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that Lee encountered this incident while traveling by car after making a statement that the development of the Gadeokdo airport should continue.
Korean President Yoon Sukyeol ordered a speedy investigation and offered his support to Lee, who he beat by a narrow margin to acquire the president’s post last year. His office said in a statement: “Yoon emphasised our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances.
Lee’s exact condition is unknown, but he is said to be conscious.
Lee is chief of the Democratic Party. South Korea’s parliamentary elections are slated for April.
With inputs from DW.