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Lee assailant indicted for attempted murder, election law violation

January 29, 2024

The assailant who attacked opposition leader Lee Jae-myung with a knife early this month was indicted Monday on charges of attempted murder and violation of the election law, the prosecution said.

The 67-year-old attacker, surnamed Kim, was apprehended on the scene after stabbing the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party in the neck during his visit to this southeastern port city on Jan. 2. Kim has insisted he acted alone to prevent Lee from becoming president.

Wrapping up a weekslong investigation into the case, the Busan District Prosecutors Office announced the indictment of the assailant on the two charges, accusing him of attempting to influence April’s general election by committing crimes and disrupting electoral freedom through violence.

The prosecution also indicted a 75-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, on charges of aiding Kim’s attempted murder and violation of the Public Official Election Act.

The prosecution said it has concluded after investigating a total of 114 people surrounding the assailant that there were no additional accomplices or masterminds behind his crimes.

The assailant who attacked opposition leader Lee Jae-myung leaves a police station in Busan, southeastern South Korea, in this file photo taken Jan. 10, 2024. (Yonhap)
The assailant who attacked opposition leader Lee Jae-myung leaves a police station in Busan, southeastern South Korea, in this file photo taken Jan. 10, 2024. (Yonhap)