Man arrested after South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck during visit

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was taken to hospital after being attacked in the southern city of Busan

A man has been arrested after South Korea's opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern city of Busan.

Mr Lee, 59, was airlifted to a nearby hospital in Seoul for treatment for surgery where he was said to be conscious and not in a critical condition.

The attack on Tuesday happened when the main opposition Democratic Party leader walked through a crowd of journalists and others after finishing a tour of the site of a new airport in Busan. The attacker, posing as a supporter, approached Mr Lee, saying he wanted to get his autograph, before stabbing him.

Videos circulated on social media showed the suspect, wearing a paper crown reading “I’m Lee Jae-myung,” being chased and tackled by several people.

Police said officers arrested the man on the spot. During questioning, he refused to identify himself or say why he attacked Lee, according to Yonhap news agency.

Lee’s Democratic Party called the incident “a terrorist attack on Lee and a serious threat to democracy.” It called on police to make a through, swift investigation of the incident.

Party spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung told reporters at Pusan National University Hospital that Lee's jugular vein was believed to have been damaged and there was concern over the large amount of bleeding. He said Lee was being airlifted to a hospital in Seoul for surgery.

Hospital officials would not comment on Lee's condition.

President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed deep concern about Lee’s health and ordered authorities to investigate the attack, saying such violence would not be tolerated, according to Yoon’s office.

Mr Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by 0.7 percentage point, the narrowest margin ever recorded in a South Korean presidential election.

Since his election defeat, Mr Lee has been a harsh critic of Mr Yoon's major policies. Last year, Mr Lee launched a 24-day hunger strike to protest what he called Mr Yoon's failure to oppose Japan's release of treated radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power, his mishandling of the country's post-pandemic economy and his hardline policies on North Korea.

Mr Lee is also known for his self-made success story. He worked in a factory as a boy, an experience that left him with an arm disability. He later made his own way through school and passed the country’s notoriously difficult bar exam to work as a human rights lawyer.

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