Man who stabbed South Korean opposition leader sentenced to 15 years in prison

By Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press

16 minutes ago

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A man who stabbed South Korea's opposition leader in the neck earlier this year was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison, court officials said.

The knife-wielding man attacked Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, South Korea's largest political party, in January after approaching him for an autograph at an event in the southeastern city of Busan. After being arrested by police, he told investigators he wanted to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming South Korea's president.

The Busan District Court said the man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of attempted murder and violating an election law.

The court said the man and prosecutors have one week to appeal.

The attack came ahead of the country's crucial parliamentary elections in April, which ended in a landslide victory for Lee's Democratic Party and other opposition parties over President Yoon Suk Yeol's ruling conservative party.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the court ruled that the attack constituted a “serious challenge” to the country's electoral system and an act that “significantly destroys social consensus and trust in basic liberal democratic principles.” The verdict said the attacker had long hated Lee due to political differences, had practiced stabbing him in the neck in advance and followed him to five public events.

The court's public affairs office could not immediately confirm details of Friday's verdict. The court did not reveal the man's identity. Police had previously said he was about 67 years old.

Democratic Party officials had confirmed that the attacker had joined the party last year. The ruling People Power Party said he was not currently a member, but media reports said the man, identified only by his surname Kim, was previously affiliated with the party's predecessor.

Lee, a sharp-tongued former provincial governor, lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, by the narrowest margin ever in a South Korean presidential election.

The bitter contest between the two candidates and the political wrangling that followed the election have exacerbated an already toxic divide between conservatives and liberals in South Korea. Polls have shown Lee as an early frontrunner for the 2027 presidential election. Yoon is barred by law from running for re-election.