SEOUL - Conspiracy theories suggesting the Jan 2 stabbing of South Korea’s opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was orchestrated by the victim himself have been spreading on the Internet, sparking outrage among members of the public and those in political circles in both the liberal and conservative camps.
The 59-year-old leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea was stabbed on the left side of the neck by a 67-year-old man in Busan during a visit to the southernmost port city, causing injury to his jugular vein that required emergency surgery.
He regained consciousness later in the day and is recovering at Seoul National University Hospital.
Far-right YouTubers have been circulating conspiracy theories that the attack was self-orchestrated, saying that it took place just as ruling People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon’s ratings had started rising.
Mr Han, who took over the position a week ago on Dec 26, is being considered a possible candidate for the next presidency.
In a Dec 28 to 29 Gallup poll surveying 1,017 adults across the country on who they would like to see as the next president, Mr Han overtook Lee for the first time – 24 per cent to 22 per cent.
One YouTuber also claimed the weapon might have been a cellphone case or a paper knife, and this spread via social media.
One user of X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed the phrase “I’m Lee Jae-myung” on the headpiece the attacker had been wearing “shows that he is a Democratic Party member” and was therefore proof that Lee intended to be stabbed in the neck.
Even Lee’s political rivals have stressed that such conspiracy theories are absurd.
In a ruling party event in Daejeon just hours after the stabbing, a ruling party supporter shouted, “It (Lee’s attack) is just a show”, which Mr Han waved off and said: “Please be concerned (about Lee) just as if I had been attacked.”
Mr Lee Jun-seok, the former ruling party leader who recently parted ways with it to start a new party, voiced his opposition to the conspiracy theories.
“I’ve expressed my hopes that (Lee) will be all right and said the police need to investigate the case to get to the bottom of this, which I hoped that the supporters of the new party would not take the wrong way and suggest conspiracy theories.
“And what do you know, there are YouTubers who suggest the attack was self-staged – conservative YouTubers,” he said while appearing on a local radio show on Jan 3. He also stressed that such allegations based on conspiracy theories are “very shameful”.
Members of both the ruling and main opposition parties emphasised that the stabbing should not be used politically.
Mr Park Jung-ha, chief spokesman for the People Power Party, stressed that both the party and Mr Han made it clear that the attack was “not something that should happen in a democratic society”.
“If anyone interprets the radical comments of some supporters in a distorted way, connecting them to the party or Han, we will respond firmly,” he said.
Mr Hong Ihk-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, urged fellow lawmakers of his party not to comment rashly on the situation.
“Please do not be shaken. And please refrain from making comments other than wishing Lee well, such as political interpretations of the attack, or related to the culprit,” he said in a text message sent to party members. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
