THIS is the moment South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck while speaking to reporters during a visit to the port city of Busan in South Korea on Tuesday.
The unidentified attacker stabbed Lee before being restrained by other people on the scene.
Reporters were seen gathering around the opposition chief after he collapsed and became unresponsive on the ground.
The attacker reportedly approached Lee asking for an autograph before stabbing him, inflicting a one-centimetre laceration.
Lee was later airlifted to a hospital where he was treated while conscious.
According to the South Korean Police, Lee’s wound was not life-threatening.
Meanwhile, Kwon Chil-seung, a spokesman for Lee’s Democratic Party of Korea, stated that the party strongly condemned the attack and considered it AS a clear act of democracy destruction.
“We strongly condemn the attack and consider it a clear act of democracy destruction,” according to Kwon Chil-seung, Spokesman, Democratic Party of Korea.
President Yoon Suk Yeol also condemned the attack and instructed the best care be given to Lee.
“This type of violence must never be tolerated under any circumstances” Pres. Yoon Suk Yeol, Republic of Korea said.
Police officers have not yet revealed the attacker’s identity or motive.
Lee Jae-myung, known as the former governor of Gyeonggi province, lost to the current South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol during the 2022 elections.
He has been heading the main opposition party since August 2022.
The 59-year-old opposition leader lost to President Yoon by a small margin of 0.72 percent and is expected to run again in 2027.
