South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung stabbed in neck as he speaks to reporters

South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified assailant during a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday and has been airlifted to hospital for treatment, said party and fire officials.

Mr Lee, who leads the Democratic Party, was conscious and being flown to Seoul National University in the capital after receiving emergency treatment at the Pusan National University Hospital, party spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung said.

Mr Lee was attacked as he visited the construction site of a new airport in the city, said an emergency agency official.

The assailant, described as a man in his 50s or 60s and wearing a paper crown with Mr Lee’s name on it, initially approached him for an autograph, before lunging and attacking him. The man was quickly subdued and taken into custody.

Television footage and a video clip on the social media platform X showed the man lunging with his arm stretched out and stabbing Mr Lee in the neck, with the force of the attack pushing Mr Lee back into the crowd behind him.

Pictures taken by journalists at the scene show Mr Lee collapsing to the ground with his eyes closed as others press a handkerchief against the side of his neck.

Mr Kwon, speaking outside the hospital soon after Mr Lee was airlifted by helicopter, said Pusan National University Hospital medical staff suspected damage to a jugular vein that carries blood from the head to the heart.

“There is concern that there could be large haemorrhage or additional haemorrhage, according to medical staff,” he said.

The transfer to Seoul was possible after medical staff determined his condition was not life-threatening based on emergency treatment and a CT scan, a Pusan National University Hospital official said.

Mr Lee’s Democratic Party called the incident “a terrorist attack on Lee and a serious threat to democracy”. It called on police to make a through, swift investigation of the incident.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office issued a statement condemning the attack, saying it was an unacceptable act. The president also expressed deep concern for Mr Lee and urged he be given the best care so he can make a speedy recovery, his office said.

“The president emphasised that this form of violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances in our society,” the statement said.

A liberal former provincial governor, Mr Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to president Yoon Suk-yeol by a narrow margin. Known for his outspoken style, he is seen by supporters as an anti-elitist hero who could reform establishment politics, eradicate corruption and solve growing economic inequality. Critics view him as a dangerous populist who relies on stoking divisions and demonising his conservative opponents.

Mr Lee is currently on trial for alleged bribery stemming from a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul. Mr Lee has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.

He also went on a hunger strike in protest against the charges, accusing the president of using the criminal justice system to intimidate political opponents.

There is police presence at major events but political leaders are not normally under close security protection.

South Korea, which has its next parliamentary elections slated for April, has a history of political violence. Mr Lee’s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head, causing a laceration.

Then conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was stabbed at an event in 2006 and suffered a gash on her face that required surgery.

Her father, Park Chung-hee, who was president for 16 years after taking power in a military coup, was shot and killed by his disgruntled spy chief in 1979 at a drunken private dinner.

In 2015 the then-US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face.

Additional reporting by agencies