Anchor: Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) chair Lee Jae-myung was attacked on Tuesday while on a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan. The opposition leader fell to the ground bleeding but the injury on his neck is not life-threatening, according to doctors.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: An unidentified man attacked the left side of Lee Jae-myung’s neck at around 10:30 Tuesday morning.

The main opposition chief was speaking to reporters after checking the site of delayed construction for a new airport on Gadeok Island in the nation’s southeastern coast.

The suspect in his late 60s approached the DP chief pretending to be a supporter before attacking him with a weapon around 18 centimeters long.

Lee fell to the ground bleeding as cameras around him captured the scene.

He was transported by helicopter to a local hospital some 20 minutes after the attack, having received medical treatment on-site for a wound around one-point-five centimeter long, which was later described as not life-threatening.

The opposition chief is now being treated at the Seoul National University Hospital for laceration damage to his jugular vein, according to doctors there. Medical experts said that a laceration to the adjacent carotid artery could have been life-threatening.

The suspect was apprehended at the scene of the crime and the police are investigating him for attempted murder.

According to the Busan Gangseo Police Station, the suspect kept mum as he was taken into custody immediately after the attack, and is continuing to exercise the right to remain silent.

National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun called for a thorough investigation into the attack, ordering the Busan Metropolitan Police to establish an investigation headquarters.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.