OAN's Avril Elfie
11:38am – Tuesday, January 2, 2024
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to Busan.
advertisement
On Tuesday, 59-year-old Lee was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified man who approached him asking for an “autograph.” Then the man suddenly pulled out a knife and tried to kill her.
https://twitter.com/hellowo63335565/status/1742255374286356823
Lee, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, had to be airlifted to a hospital in Seoul after receiving emergency treatment in Busan.
Lee's political party later reported that he was recovering in intensive care after a two-hour operation.
Busan Police Officer Song Jae-han explained the incident at a press conference. He said the gunman approached Lee, who was walking through a crowd of reporters, asking for an autograph, before the man suddenly stabbed him in the left side of his neck.
Song said the suspect, who is about 67 years old, bought the 7-inch knife online.
Videos on social media show the perpetrator trying to pose as a Lee supporter by wearing a paper crown that says “I am Lee Jae-myung.”
Party spokesman Kwon Chil-sung told reporters that the politician underwent revascularization surgery at Seoul National University Hospital for a jugular vein injury.
Police and paramedics said Lee was conscious and was not in a serious condition.
Mr. Lee's Democratic Party said the incident was a “terrorist attack against Mr. Lee and a serious threat to democracy.”
Police are currently investigating the motive for the attack.
Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to current president Yoon Seok-yeol by a margin of 0.7 percentage points, reportedly the narrowest margin ever recorded in a South Korean presidential election.
Since Mr. Yoon's defeat, Mr. Lee has harshly criticized Mr. Yoon's major policies. In protest of Yun's alleged failure to oppose Japan's release of treated radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan's handling of the economy after the pandemic, and its tough stance on North Korea. , Mr. Lee went on a 24-hour hunger strike. last year.
In Seongnam City, where Lee was mayor from 2010 to 2018, one of the many corruption charges against him is that he provided illegal favors to private investors who made “huge profits” from controversial housing projects. It's called “Ta”.
Stay informed. Receive breaking news directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Please share this post!
