During a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck.
The scene was as brutal as it was shocking, with a man approaching and then very quickly jabbing an object up into Lee’s neck.
***WARNING: GRAPHIC***
South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been stabbed in the neck during a visit to Busan, police have said.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 2, 2024
Warning: This video shows the moment of a stabbing.
Read more: https://t.co/xRGCRCsgSA pic.twitter.com/1gQFtHlUhn
RELATED: Kid Rock Fires Back At Megyn Kelly After She Slams Him For Dropping Bud Light Boycott
Why?
It’s not just America dealing with polarized politics. The attack on Lee comes just 18 months after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.
Fox News reports:
Lee, the chief of the main opposition Democratic Party, is conscious and was airlifted to the Pusan National University Hospital, a party official and a fire department official told Reuters. He was attacked by an unidentified man during a tour of the site of a proposed airport, Yonhap reported.
The attack left a gash in Lee’s neck that is about 1 cm long, according to YTN television.
The suspected attacker appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s who wore a paper crown with Lee’s name printed on it, news photographs showed. He approached Lee asking for an autograph among a crowd of supporters before he lunged forward and attacked, video footage showed. The assailant was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene.
The assailant was refusing to answer police questions about his motives, the daily Busan Ilbo reported.
The report and images of the scene show the crowd reacting quickly to get pressure on the wound.
BREAKING: South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been stabbed in the neck
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 2, 2024
https://t.co/6uMGtTkYfr
South Korea’s President Swiftly Condemned the Attack
The current President, Yoon Suk Yeol, condemned the attack and wished Lee a speedy recovery.
Yoon had narrowly defeated Lee in a contentious election in 2022.
Despite South Korea’s harsh gun restrictions, the country has a history of political violence involving other weapons.
In April, South Korea is scheduled to have its next parliamentary elections.
Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”