South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to Busan, according to police.
He was attacked while touring a construction site at a new airport, as reported by the city’s emergency office.
Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, is conscious and not critically injured, but his exact condition is unknown. He was taken to a local university hospital for treatment.
Police said an unidentified man approached the politician for an autograph before stabbing him with an 18cm long knife he had bought online. The 67-year-old suspect was quickly restrained and arrested but refused to disclose his identity or the reason for the attack.
It is believed Lee’s jugular vein was damaged and there was concern over the large amount of bleeding, according to party spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung. He had reportedly been left with a gash of about 1cm.
The Democratic Party called the incident “a terrorist attack on Lee and a serious threat to democracy” and urged the police to conduct a thorough and swift investigation.
Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon Suk-yeol by a narrow margin and is currently on trial for alleged bribery, which he denies, relating to a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul.
The politician was in the southern port city of Busan
President Yoon condemned the attack and expressed deep concern for Lee’s condition. South Korea has strict gun laws but there is a history of political violence using other weapons. Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil, suffered a head wound when he was attacked with a blunt object at a public event in 2022.