Attacker of South Korean politician sentenced

SEOUL — The man who attacked Lee Jae-myung, then leader of the South Korean opposition, in January and left him hospitalized, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, a regional court told AFP.

The man, identified by local media only by his surname Kim, posed as a supporter and stabbed Lee in the neck as the politician was surrounded by reporters at an event in the southern port city of Busan on January 2.

Lee suffered a jugular vein injury and underwent emergency surgery, but recovered after being hospitalized for about a week.

The 67-year-old attacker was “sentenced today to 15 years in prison,” Lee Jae-hee, a spokesman for the Busan District Court, told AFP.

Kim had been charged with attempted murder and electoral law violations, with the attack occurring about three months before the April 10 parliamentary elections.

Police said Kim meticulously planned the attack because he wanted to prevent Lee from “becoming president.”

In April's elections, South Korea's ruling conservative party suffered a landslide defeat to the Democratic Party (DP), led by Lee at the time.

Lee is widely expected to run again for the DP leadership at a party congress scheduled for August.

Several prominent South Korean politicians have been publicly attacked in the past.

Song Young-gil, who led the Democratic Party before Lee, was hit in the head with a blunt object in 2022.

In 2006, Park Geun-hye, who became president in 2013, was attacked with a knife during a rally.