The leader of South Korea's Democratic Party and opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday at around 10:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. French time) during a visit to Gadeok Island near the southeastern port city of Busan.
The attacker's attack, visible in video footage and photos, took place after Lee visited the site of an airport project, and drove back to the cars chatting with reporters and onlookers. approach the band to ask Lee for an autograph. And, while he is still talking, rush forward and attack him, arm outstretched, with a knife of at least 20 cm. Under the blow, Lee is pushed back into the crowd behind him. He winces and collapses to the ground.
The assailant was quickly subdued by men, including police officers, according to the footage. According to Jin Jeong-hwa, a Lee supporter who was present at the scene and was live-streaming the event, more than two dozen police officers were present at the time of the attack.
As Lee lay on the ground with his eyes closed, people pressed a handkerchief against his neck. The South Korean opposition leader was first transported, conscious, to a hospital in Busan before being taken by helicopter at around 13 p.m. to the university hospital in Seoul, the capital, where he is scheduled to undergo surgery. His jugular vein was reportedly damaged, according to a spokesman for his party, but his condition does not appear to be life-threatening.
His attacker asserted his right to remain silent, according to the Busan Ilbo daily, which said the national police will set up an "investigation headquarters" to shed light on the attack, the perpetrator's motives and his possible masterminds.
Accusations of corruption
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung narrowly lost to the conservative and current South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, in the 2022 presidential election. A former factory worker who started working in a glove factory at the age of 11 became mayor of Seongnam, near Seoul, and then governor of Gyeonggi province, the country's most populous province that surrounds Seoul, the candidate had proposed original measures, including a universal minimum income and free school uniforms. But his presidential candidacy had been tarnished by a series of scandals.
In September 2023, Lee Jae-myung avoided arrest after a court rejected a request by the prosecution to pre-trial detention pending trial on various corruption charges. He is suspected of bribery in connection with a company that allegedly illegally transferred $8 million to North Korea.
Since the New Year, Lee had been touring Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, where former President Roh Moo-hyun's tomb and former President Moon Jae-in's residence are located. A lunch between Lee and Moon was scheduled for today but was canceled in the wake of the attack.
South Korea's political life is marked by violence. The police are present at major events, but political leaders are generally not provided with close protection.
Lee's predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who threw a blunt object at his head, causing a laceration. In 2015, Mark Lippert, then U.S. ambassador to South Korea, was assaulted by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face.
In 2006, Park Geun-hye, then leader of the conservative opposition party — he later served as president of the country — was stabbed at an event. His father, Park Chung-hee, who served as president for 16 years after seizing power in a military coup, was shot and killed by his disgruntled spy boss in 1979 during a boozy private dinner.