South Korean opposition leader stabbed in neck, rushed to hospital | Politics News

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Lee Jae-myung was attacked as he spoke to reporters during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed on the left side of his neck during a question and answer session with journalists, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The attacker, an unidentified man, was arrested at the scene, the agency added.

Pictures in South Korean media showed Lee lying on his back on the ground with his eyes closed, as officials crowded around him and one pressed a cloth against his neck.

Yonhap said the politician was bleeding but remained conscious.

Lee, who had earlier toured the site of a new airport under construction on Busan’s Gadeok Island, ran for the presidency in 2022, but lost out to conservative Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon said Tuesday’s attack was unacceptable.

Born into a poor farming family, Lee entered politics when was elected mayor of Seongnam city in 2010. He worked in a factory to put himself through night school and become a human rights lawyer.