crime
South Korea: Attack on politicians probably politically motivated
South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae Myung (M) was attacked by a man with a knife during a public appearance. photo
© Sohn Hyung-joo/YONHAP/AP/dpa
Opposition leader Lee Jae Myung was attacked with a knife during a public appearance. The police now say that the attacker apparently wanted to prevent Lee from becoming president.
The man probably had no accomplices in the preparation of the crime. This emerges from the investigations, including tracing telephone calls.
Attacked with a knife while performing
The 59-year-old chairman of the Democratic Party was attacked with an outdoor knife and injured in the neck during a public appearance in Busan on January 2nd. The 66- or 67-year-old perpetrator was arrested at the scene. Police handed the case over to the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday, according to reports from South Korean broadcasters. The suspect faces attempted murder charges.
After an operation, Lee was able to leave a hospital in Seoul. He was quoted by the national news agency Yonhap as saying he hoped the attack on him would help end the “war-like politics in South Korea.”
The attack took place three months before the parliamentary elections in South Korea. As the police further explained, the perpetrator also said he wanted to prevent Lee from nominating his confidants as candidates for the election. Lee himself was a candidate in the presidential election two years ago. At that time he narrowly lost to the current conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.