Jan 2, 2024 at 5:51 AM Update: 28 minutes ago
Lee Jae-myung, the South Korean opposition leader, was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday during a visit to the southern port city of Busan. The leader of the Democratic Party has been taken to hospital. A suspect was arrested at the scene.
Images show 59-year-old Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and bystanders pressing a handkerchief against the side of his neck.
The attack took place while he was talking to the press after a visit to an airport under construction. Lee was stabbed out of nowhere by someone walking just in front of him.
The perpetrator, probably in his fifties or sixties, wore a paper crown with Lee’s name on his head. He is said to have asked for his autograph just before the stabbing. It is not clear what he stabbed Lee with.
According to news agency Yonhap Lee was conscious when he was taken to hospital, but was still bleeding. He is in the hospital. President Yoon Suk-yeol condemned the attack.
Lee’s party and President Yoon’s conservative party are the two main parties in South Korea. Lee narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon.
The opposition leader is currently on trial for corruption over a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam, a suburb of Seoul. Lee denies those claims and speaks of a “political conspiracy against him”.
Image: AP
Read more about:
South KoreaForeign
2024-01-02 04:51:27
#South #Korean #opposition #leader #stabbed #neck #working #visit
