(LEAD) Police to seek arrest warrant for suspect in stabbing attack against opposition leader

▲ A man (4th from L, blurred) is taken by police investigators from Gangseo Police Station to Busan Metropolitan Police Agency in Busan on Jan. 2, 2024. The suspect is accused of stabbing opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck during the politician's visit to Busan. (Yonhap)

▲ Police officers stand guard at Seoul National University Hospital on Jan. 3, 2024, where Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, had emergency surgery completed the previous day after being stabbed in the neck by a man in his 60s during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) police-opposition leader

(LEAD) Police to seek arrest warrant for suspect in stabbing attack against opposition leader

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info throughout; ADDS photo)

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL/BUSAN, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- Police said Wednesday they plan to seek an arrest warrant for the suspect in the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung during his visit to the southeastern port city of Busan.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Kim, 66, is accused of stabbing Lee, the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), in the neck while posing as an autograph-seeker Tuesday morning. The attack occurred after Lee toured the construction site of a new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island.

Kim was immediately overpowered and detained at the scene.

On Wednesday, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said they plan to seek a warrant to formally arrest Kim, most likely on charges of attempted murder. Earlier, the police revealed that Kim had confessed to intending to kill Lee.

Police also revealed that circumstantial evidence suggests premeditation, such as the purchase and modification of a 17-centimeter mountaineering knife for the crime.

The suspect's history also indicates that he followed Lee's planned tour of southern cities, officials said. The suspect arrived in Busan on Monday, visited the adjacent city of Ulsan later that day, and returned to Busan on Tuesday.

Furthermore, a district court issued a warrant to search Kim's residence and office as part of the investigation.

Police said they would concentrate on determining the exact motive behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Lee remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Seoul National University Hospital, where he underwent a two-hour surgery.

"Chairman Lee is in the ICU, and visitation is only allowed for family members," party spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters, adding that even party leadership members were unable to meet Lee.

Lee, who suffered an injury to his jugular vein, was airlifted by a helicopter from Busan to Seoul on Tuesday.

"Lee was stabbed in the jugular vein and underwent vascular reconstruction surgery, which included the removal of blood clots," the party's spokesperson, Rep. Kwon Chil-seung, said in a press briefing Tuesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and rival parties unanimously expressed deep concern over Lee's safety and condemned the attack, emphasizing that such violence should never be tolerated under any circumstances.

The attack occurred just 100 days before the country holds parliamentary elections in April, as the ruling People Power Party seeks to regain its majority from the DP.

Both parties scaled down large-scale events and other schedules, with the DP urging its members to refrain from making political interpretations of the attack or comments about the suspect.

"Members, please refrain from being swayed and, aside from expressing wishes for Lee's recovery, avoid making political interpretations or mentioning the suspect in relation to the incident," Rep. Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the DP, said in a text message to the party members.

(END)

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