(Seoul) South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, stabbed in the neck on Tuesday during a trip, is “recovering well” from his injury, one of the doctors treating him announced Thursday.
Mr Lee, 59, is “recovering well, fortunately”, said Professor Min Seung-kee, who operated on the politician at Seoul National University Hospital.
Lee Jae-myung, released from intensive care Wednesday evening, remains under continuous monitoring at the hospital to prevent any complications, he added.
The leader of the Democratic Party was walking in the port city of Busan (South), surrounded by journalists and his supporters after visiting an airport, when a man stabbed him in the neck.
First hospitalized in Busan, he was then evacuated by plane to Seoul where he underwent a two-hour surgery.
Mr. Lee suffered from a “1.4 centimeter wound that went through a muscle,” Professor Min explained at a press conference. The knife “cut approximately 60% of the internal jugular vein. […] But fortunately, there was no sign of damage to the artery, brain nerve, throat or airway,” the surgeon continued.
The attacker, aged 66 and identified only by his last name Kim, was arrested at the scene. A Busan court on Thursday was expected to consider a prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant which, if granted, will allow police to continue detaining the suspect.
According to the South Korean agency Yonhap, Mr. Kim is a real estate agent in South Chungcheong province, located 115 km south of Seoul, who was going through financial difficulties and had been unable to pay the rent of his office for seven months.
In the 2022 presidential election, Lee Jae-myung was narrowly defeated by his opponent Yoon Suk Yeol, from the conservative ranks.