The leader of South Korea’s leftist opposition Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after a would-be assassin stabbed him in the neck on January 2.
Lee faces the daunting political task ahead of organizing a robust campaign against the ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP) while several lawmakers denounce his leadership and defect from the DP. South Koreans will vote in a national general election for members of the National Assembly and other top regional offices on April 10.
Shortly before Lee departed from the hospital on Wednesday, Reps. Cho Eung-cheon, Kim Jong-min, and Lee Won-wook held a press conference to announce that they would no longer be members of the Democratic Party because “the current Lee Jae-myung regime” was not equipped to properly challenge President Yoon Suk-yeol. The three, part of a group of DP defectors calling themselves “Principle and Common Sense,” had warned in a separate event on Tuesday that they would abandon the party if Lee did not respond to their demand by the end of that day.
“Chairman Lee has only one day left,” Rep. Cho said. “If we don’t get an answer, it will leave us with no other choice.”
The three declared their departure from the party before Lee was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.
In his first public appearance since the stabbing, Lee urged the country to move away from political violence and apologized to his supporters for getting stabbed and “causing concern.”
“I sincerely hope that this incident, which shocked everyone, will become a milestone to end the politics of hatred and confrontation and restore proper politics of mutual respect and coexistence,” Lee said. “It is time to put an end to warlike politics, where one must kill and eliminate one’s opponent.”
“With this life that the people have saved, I will live the rest of my life only for the people,” he promised. “I will repay by creating a world where everyone lives together, a country where everyone is happy and dreams of hope.”
The defecting DP politicians in “Principle and Common Sense” expressed no faith in Lee to continue leading the party, not addressing the assassination attempt in their press conference on Wednesday. Instead, the three reportedly emphasized that the PPP appeared simply too powerful in the face of the current policies of the Democratic Party.
“Stressing the need for a new political force, the trio called for politics that promote public unity to change the world and expressed willingness to join hands with any who are ready to give up their privileges,” KBS World reported. “The group is widely expected to join former DP leader Lee Nak-yon, who is set to defect on Thursday to form a new party.”
“We must judge and hold the Yoon Suk Yeol administration accountable for its self-righteousness, incompetence and irresponsibility,” Rep. Kim, one of the three defectors, said in the press conference, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. “However, we can’t pass judgment on the Yoon administration under the current Lee Jae-myung regime.”
Lee’s stabbing took place shortly after the culmination of an event at a construction site in the southern port city of Busan. A man in a blue paper crown with the text “I’m Lee Jae-myung” written on it in Hangul approached Lee and thrust what was later identified as a modified camping knife into his neck. Police authorities told reporters on Wednesday that Lee’s shirt collar appeared to have saved his life, as it prevented the knife from penetrating deeply into his neck.
“According to Seoul National University Hospital’s medical records, the knife penetrated Lee’s neck by 2 centimeters, resulting in a 1.4-centimeter wound on the skin and damaging the internal jugular vein by 9 millimeters,” the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Lee’s attacker has only been identified publicly as a 67-year-old man with the last name “Kim” and was immediately apprehended at the scene. In an anonymous appearance before reporters on Wednesday, Kim apologized for trying to kill Lee and limited his remarks. Police authorities told police, however, that Kim wrote a note in April 2023 explaining his attempt to kill Lee prior to the act in which he expressed fear that Lee could one day become president of South Korea and allow “pro-North Korean” forces to control the government.
Lee ran and lost against the current president, the PPP’s Yoon Suk-yeol, in 2022 in one of the country’s most severely contested and bitter modern presidential races. He rose to the candidacy following a series of accusations of sexual assault against popular Democratic Party politicians that preceded the suicide of the then-mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, considered a top contender for the presidency at the time of his death. Park faced accusations of sending illicit photos and groping female staffers.
Lee has since faced allegations of corruption, which he protested in September by going on a hunger strike.
“The suspect has said to the effect that he decided to kill the victim so as to prevent him from becoming president and … taking a majority of seats in the upcoming general elections,” Woo Chul-moon, head of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters on Wednesday.
Police said they believe “Kim” acted alone in his assassination attempt.
