South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck, rushed to hospital

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung has been urgently taken to the hospital after being stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

Lee, who leads the main opposition Democratic Party, sustained a stab wound on the left side of his neck while participating in a question and answer session with journalists, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The unidentified assailant was apprehended at the scene.

Images circulated in South Korean media depict Lee lying on his back with his eyes closed, surrounded by officials, and one person applying a cloth to his neck. Yonhap reported that the politician was bleeding but remained conscious.

Earlier in the day, Lee had toured the construction site of a new airport on Busan’s Gadeok Island.

 He ran for the presidency in 2022 but was defeated by conservative Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon, in response to Tuesday’s attack, deemed it unacceptable.

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

दक्षिण कोरिया के विपक्षी नेता की गर्दन पर चाकू मारा गया, अस्पताल ले जाया गया