South Korea ruling party’s lawmaker injured in Seoul attack, assailant arrested: Report

SEOUL - An unidentified attacker struck a lawmaker from South Korea’s ruling People Power Party in the head with an object on Jan 25, the party said, requiring her hospitalisation.

The party said Ms Bae Hyun-jin was attacked on a street in the affluent Gangnam district of the capital Seoul and it called for a thorough investigation.

Yonhap news agency reported that her attacker was arrested at the scene and told police he was 15 years old. He had asked Ms Bae for her name before hitting her with a small stone, it said, adding that she had been bleeding when taken to the hospital.

No further details about the assailant or his motive were available, and the Gangnam police station was not immediately available for comment.

The attack comes after the leader of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party Lee Jae-myung was stabbed with a knife in the neck earlier in January. He underwent surgery to repair a lacerated blood vessel and left hospital eight days later.

The People Power Party spokesman Jung Hee-yong said in a statement: “We can’t help but feel saddened by (the Jan 25) attack.

“We urge a thorough investigation and stern action against the perpetrator.”

The party’s interim leader, Mr Han Dong-hoon, later told reporters at the hospital that Ms Bae had bled quite a lot after the attack but was now recovering, adding that such an incident should never happen again. REUTERS