SEOUL: South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung narrowly escaped death when he was stabbed in the neck, a party lawmaker said on Wednesday, as police were granted a warrant to search his assailant’s property.
Lee was surrounded by journalists in southern Busan city when a man pretending to be a supporter pushed through a crowd and lunged at him, stabbing him on the left side of his neck with a knife.
Lee, who suffered a wound to his jugular vein, was first taken to a hospital in Busan, then flown to the capital Seoul where he underwent a two-hour surgery.
“Busan medical staff stated that if the attacker’s knife had struck Lee’s carotid artery he could have been killed instantly at the scene,” Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae said during a party meeting on Wednesday.
Kang Cheong-hee, a medical doctor and a member of the Democratic Party, later said Lee suffered “a severe injury”.
Lee was admitted to the intensive care unit following the procedure.
He was then transferred to the general ward on Wednesday evening, as per the hospital guidelines, Yonhap news agency reported citing his party.
According to Yonhap, police said on Wednesday that they planned to seek an arrest warrant for the 66-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Kim, who was detained at the scene.
A district court issued a warrant to search the suspect’s house and office as part of the investigation, Yonhap said, adding that police will focus on finding the exact motive behind the attack.
South Korean authorities plan to bring attempted murder charges against the assailant, and the attacker told the police, according to Yonhap, that he intended to kill Lee.
“The assailant’s confession that he had meant to kill is utterly shocking,” lawmaker Jung said.
In footage aired on South Korean television stations, police were seen wrestling the suspect, who displayed a pro-Lee slogan, to the ground.
The 59-year-old politician was “walking to his car while talking to reporters when the attacker asked for his autograph”, a witness told local broadcaster YTN.
According to Yonhap, suspect Kim had been working as a real estate agent in South Chungcheong Province, around 115 kilometres south of Seoul.
Citing delivery messages for registered mail from banks at his office, among other materials, Yonhap reported Kim had been facing financial difficulties and was unable to pay the monthly rent for the office for seven months. — AFP
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