Lee has been transported to a hospital and was aware however bleeding, Yonhap stated.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the assault, saying it was an unacceptable act, his workplace stated. He expressed deep concern for Lee and instructed finest care be given so he could make a speedy restoration.
Lee, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, narrowly misplaced to conservative Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, within the 2022 presidential election.
Lee, who has led the principle opposition occasion since August 2022, is on trial for alleged bribery stemming from a growth venture when he was mayor of Seongnam close to Seoul. Lee has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.
South Korea’s subsequent parliamentary elections are slated for April.
Though there are strict restrictions on gun possession, South Korea has a historical past of political violence involving different weapons.
Lee Jae-myung, chief of the Democratic Get together, in Seoul final yr.Credit score: Bloomberg
Lee’s predecessor, Music Younger-gil was attacked in 2022 at a public occasion by an assailant who swung a blunt object in opposition to his head, inflicting a laceration.
Then conservative opposition occasion chief Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was attacked at an occasion in 2006 with a knife and suffered a gash on her confronted that required surgical procedure.
Reuters