South Korea opposition leader Lee Jae-myung ‘could have been killed’ in knife attack, says his party

SEOUL - South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung narrowly escaped death when he was

stabbed in the neck

, a party lawmaker said on Jan 3, as police were granted a warrant to search his alleged assailant’s property.

Lee was surrounded by journalists in southern Busan city the previous day 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 operation.

“Busan medical staff stated that if the attacker’s knife had struck Lee’s carotid artery, he could have been killed instantly,” Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae said during a party meeting on Jan 3.

“The situation is so serious that visiting is difficult,” he added.

Dr 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 the evening of Jan 3, as per hospital guidelines, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing his party.

According to Yonhap, police said 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.

The warrant would allow police to continue to hold the suspect.

A district court issued a warrant to search the suspect’s house and office as part of investigations, Yonhap said, adding that police will focus on finding the motive behind the attack.

The South Korean authorities plan to bring attempted murder charges against the man, who told the police that he intended to kill Lee, according to Yonhap.

“The assailant’s confession that he had meant to kill is utterly shocking,” lawmaker Jung said.

In footage aired by 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 115km south of Seoul.

Citing delivery messages for registered mail from banks at his office, among other materials, Yonhap reported that Kim had been facing financial difficulties and was unable to pay the monthly rent for the office for seven months.

Misinformation

South Korea is gearing up for a crucial general election on April 10 in which President Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative party aims to regain a parliamentary majority for the first time since 2016.

For the opposition Democratic Party, a victory in the election is seen as a critical prerequisite for preparing for the next presidential election in 2027.

Lee has faced some calls from within his own party to step down as its leader ahead of the April general election.

Misinformation about the attack on Lee was circulating online, with some claiming the entire incident was staged – claims that lawmaker Jung said were “cruel and corrupt”.

“Headlines such as ‘Fake blood with a fake knife’ and ‘YouTubers bring up conspiracy theories’ make me question how much more cruel and corrupt people can be,” he added.

Several high-profile South Korean politicians have been

attacked in public in past years

.

An elderly man hit Song Young-gil, who led the Democratic Party before Lee, in the head with a blunt object in 2022.

In 2006, Park Geun-hye, then the leader of the conservative party and who later became president, was assaulted with a knife at a rally. The attack left a scar on her face.

Lee lost in 2022 to conservative Yoon in the tightest presidential race in South Korea’s history.

A former child factory worker who suffered an industrial accident as a teenage school dropout, 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 country’s top office has been overshadowed by a string of scandals, and he still faces

trial on charges of bribery

in connection with a company that is suspected of illicitly transferring US$8 million (S$10.6 million) to North Korea.

Five individuals connected to Lee’s various scandals in the past have been found dead, many in what appeared to be suicides. AFP