The leader of the South Korean Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in the neck during a public event in the city of Busan, South Korea. The injury warranted his transfer to the South Korean capital for emergency surgery due to serious damage to the jugular, according to his training.
The event took place at 10:27 local time during an event with journalists. It happened on the land that will house the new Busan airport (about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul) on the island of Gadeok. A man, wearing a crown that read “I am Lee Jae-myung,” pounced on the political leader and stabbed him in the left side of the neck.
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Lee was taken consciously to the hospital by ambulance about 20 minutes later with significant bleeding. This, while security elements captured the author of the attack. This is a man between 60 and 70 years old, according to the Yonhap agency.
The video that shows the moment where Lee Jae-myung is stabbed in the neck
After receiving emergency care at Pusan National University Hospital, Lee was flown by helicopter to the capital. This to be operated on at Seoul National University Hospital. PD sources cited by Yonhap also indicated that the politician has lost a lot of blood due to the attack.
According to eyewitnesses and images broadcast on television, the perpetrator of the attack approached Lee, apparently pretending to be one of his followers and asking for an autograph.
The man attacked the liberal politician by surprise by stabbing him with an object that has not yet been identified and that would have a length of between 20 and 30 centimeters.
Police have said the man has not yet revealed why he stabbed Lee.
Both South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and the leader of the ruling conservative People’s Power Party (PPP), Han Dong-hoon, have strongly condemned the attack and called for a full investigation into what happened.
