The chief of South Korea's opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in his neck during a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, Reuters reported citing the Yonhap news agency. Lee was attacked by an unidentified man on the left side of his neck with a weapon while touring the site of a proposed airport in Busan, Yonhap further said, added Reuters.
News photographs showed Lee on the ground with a blood-stained handkerchief covering the wound.
Yonhap said the assailant was subdued and arrested at the scene, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Lee was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, party and fire officials said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack and called it an unforgivable act, his office said, as per Reuters. The President expressed deep concern for Lee and instructed that best care be given so he can make a speedy recovery. Lee had narrowly lost the 2022 presidential elections.
According to reports, Lee was attacked by an unidentified man while touring the site of a proposed airport, officials told Reuters. The attack reportedly has left him with a gash of about 1 cm on his neck, YTN television said, the report added. It added that the attacker appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s, who wore a paper crown with Lee's name on it, news photographs showed.
He approached and asked for an autograph as Lee talked to supporters and reporters, he lunged forward and attacked him.
A spokesman of Lee's Democratic Party of Korea said medical staff suspected injury to his jugular vein, which carries blood from the head to the heart. Lee would have to undergo surgery as they were concerned about further bleeding, spokesman Kwon Chil-seung, said.
"After being transferred to Seoul National University Hospital, we plan to operate quickly. We strongly condemn the attack and consider it a clear act of democracy destruction," he said, quoted BBC.
59-year-old Lee is currently a legislature from the Incheon seat in South Korea and is expected to run for a seat in the next general election, which will take place in April.