South Korea opposition chief stabbed in neck

South Korea's opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southern city of Busan on Tuesday (Jan 2) and was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, party and fire officials said.

Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, was attacked by an unidentified man while touring the site of a proposed airport, the officials told Reuters.

The attack left him with a gash of about 1cm on his neck, YTN television reported. Hospital officials did not immediately confirm the details of his injury.

Lee was airlifted by a fire department helicopter to the Pusan National University Hospital, a party official and emergency officials told Reuters.

"He is conscious and receiving treatment at the hospital," a Democratic Party official told Reuters.

"This is an act of terror against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should never occur under any circumstances," Kwon Chil-seung, an MP from Lee's Democratic Party, told reporters outside the hospital. "As to Lee's condition, we are waiting for the medical staff's assessment," he added, demanding a "thorough" police investigation into the attack. The assailant appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s, who wore a paper crown with Lee's name on it, news photographs showed.

The man approached and asked for an autograph as Lee spoke among a throng of supporters and reporters, then lunged forward and attacked him, video footage showed.

Video clips on YTN television and another posted on the social media platform X showed the attack, with a man lunging at Lee with his arm stretched out. Lee grimaced and collapsed to the ground.

News photographs showed the 59-year-old lying on the ground with his eyes closed and other people pressing a handkerchief against the side of his neck.

Jin Jeong-hwa, a Lee supporter who was at the scene livestreaming the event, told Reuters there were two dozen police officers at the scene.

The assailant was quickly subdued by men that included police officers, the footage showed.

He was refusing to answer police questions about his motives, daily Busan Ilbo reported.

South Korea's police chief later said a team would be created to thoroughly investigate the attack, reported Yonhap. 

President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack and expressed deep concern for Lee, said his spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung.

"Yoon emphasised our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances."

President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack and expressed deep concern for Lee, said his spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung.

"Yoon emphasised our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances."

Previously governor of Gyeonggi province, Lee narrowly lost to conservative Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, in the 2022 presidential election.

A former child factory worker who suffered an industrial accident as a teenage school drop-out, Lee rose to political stardom partly by playing up his rags-to-riches tale.

He is widely expected to run for president again in 2027, and recent polls have indicated that he remains a strong contender.

But his bid for the top office has been overshadowed by a string of scandals.

Lee avoided arrest in September when a court dismissed a request from the prosecution for him to be taken into custody pending trial on various corruption charges.

He still faces trial on charges of bribery in connection with a firm that is suspected of illicitly transferring US$8 million to North Korea.

He is also accused of breaching his duties, allegedly resulting in a loss of 20 billion won (US$15 million) for a company owned by Seongnam city during his term as its mayor. Lee has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "fiction" and a "political conspiracy".

In August last year, Lee launched a hunger strike against what he called the Yoon government's "incompetent and violent" policies.

He was hospitalised because of fasting-related ailments on Sep 18 after not eating for 19 days.

Lee has led the main opposition party since August 2022.

South Korea's next parliamentary elections are slated for April.

Although there are strict restrictions on gun possession, South Korea has a history of political violence involving other types of weapons. There is police presence at major events involving high-profile political leaders but they are not normally under close security protection.

Lee's predecessor, Song Young-gil was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head, causing a laceration.

Then conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was attacked at an event in 2006 with a knife and suffered a gash on her face that required surgery.

In 2015, then US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face.