The man who stabbed South Korea’s opposition leader in the neck in January, in the most severe assault on a politician in the country in nearly two decades, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The incident took place in Busan, the port city where the attack occurred.
The defendant, identified as Kim Jin-seong, a real estate agent, was found guilty of attempted murder and violating election laws. He has the opportunity to appeal the sentence and the conviction within a week, as confirmed by a court spokesman.
The attack on Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party at the time, occurred on January 2. Lee was left bleeding from his jugular vein and had to be admitted to an intensive care unit. Fortunately, he was discharged after eight days. The assault happened while Lee was moving through a crowd after inspecting the location of a planned airport.
The police investigations revealed that Kim, born in 1957 and residing in Asan, a city south of Seoul, had meticulously planned the attack over several months. He had been stalking Lee at previous rallies and had even prepared an eight-page manifesto. Kim’s motive was to prevent Lee from becoming president.
The attack on Lee, a liberal figure who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, sent shockwaves through South Korea, a country that has experienced largely peaceful politics since transitioning to democracy in the 1990s, ending a period of military rule and political turmoil.
This incident highlighted concerns about growing political divisions and the rise of extreme rhetoric online. Following Lee’s recovery, another politician, Bae Hyunjin, a conservative member of South Korea’s National Assembly, was assaulted in Seoul by an individual who struck her on the head with a blunt object. Fortunately, her injuries were not life-threatening.
The rivalry between Lee and President Yoon Suk Yeol has been a focal point of South Korea’s political tensions. Since losing the election in 2022, Lee has faced corruption charges brought by prosecutors. He has accused President Yoon of using law enforcement to intimidate political opponents, an accusation the president denies.
Last week, Lee stepped down as the leader of the opposition Democratic Party. He intends to run for another term in that position, in accordance with party regulations that require the current leader to resign before seeking re-election.
The last major attack on a South Korean politician before Lee’s stabbing occurred in 2006 when Park Geun-hye, then an opposition leader and later the country’s president, was assaulted with a box cutter, resulting in facial injuries.
