Astonishment in South Korea. While speaking to reporters during a visit to the construction site of a new airport in the southeastern city of Busan, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday January 2.
The Yonhap news agency published a photo in which the politician appears on the ground, a handkerchief covering his wound. He was still conscious when he was taken to hospital. The assailant was arrested on site, according to the same source. South Korean media cited witnesses who said the man used a knife-like weapon to attack Mr Lee.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his “deep concern for Lee Jae-myung’s safety after learning of the attack”reported the presidency. “Mr. Yoon stressed that our society should never tolerate this type of act of violence, regardless of the circumstances”added spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung.
A candidacy for the presidency marred by scandals
Leader of the Democratic Party, Mr. Lee lost to conservative Yoon Suk-yeol in South Korea’s 2022 presidential election. Mr. Lee, a former worker and governor of Gyeonggi province, the country’s most populous and which surrounding Seoul, had proposed original measures, including a universal minimum income and free school uniforms.
But his candidacy for the presidency was marred by a series of scandals. Mr. Lee had notably been criticized for a real estate transaction considered dubious. There were also rumors that he had links with the mafia and his wife was accused of illegally using public money.
In September 2023, Mr. Lee avoided arrest after a court rejected a request from the prosecution to remand him in custody pending trial on various corruption charges. He is suspected of corruption in connection with a company which allegedly illegally transferred 8 million dollars (7.25 million euros) to North Korea.
Mr. Lee is also accused of causing a company owned by the city of Seongnam (North-West) of which he was mayor to lose 20 billion won (nearly 14 million euros).