South Korea's opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung remains hospitalised in intensive care, a day after a knife attack shocked political leaders.
Surgeons operated on Lee for more than two hours to repair a major blood vessel in his neck that was sliced when an assailant lunged and stabbed him with a knife on Tuesday.
"The act of terror against Chairman Lee Jae-myung was clearly a challenge against democracy and a threat against democracy," Democratic Party floor leader Hong Ik-pyo said at a party leadership council meeting.
He urged a speedy investigation and tougher security for high-profile political figures, echoing renewed questions about the safety on campaign trails in a country with a history of political violence despite tight restrictions on gun ownership.
Jin Jeong-hwa, a party supporter who was a witness to the stabbing, said the incident clearly showed the need for stronger and professional security protection for political leaders, not simply police.
"People like opposition leaders really need a dedicated security detail," Jin said in an interview with Reuters.
He said it was clear from his experience at political events that Lee was very much exposed to personal safety threats.
Lee, a tough-talking progressive who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, had been rallying the party to retain the parliamentary majority it holds against President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservatives.
South Korea holds a pivotal election on April 10 where the conservatives will try to win back a majority for the first time since 2016 and help President Yoon Suk Yeol's pro-business policies including tax cuts, deregulation and social reforms.
The attack against Lee, which unfolded quickly but was widely captured in footage of the outdoors public event, shocked his party and his rivals alike, who condemned all violence against political figures.
Yoon again condemned the attack as "terror" and said: "It is an enemy of liberal democracy," according to his office. He wished Lee a speedy recovery, it said.
Lee was airlifted from Busan, where the attack occurred, to Seoul on Tuesday where he received surgery to reconstruct the jugular vein that pumps blood from the head back to the heart and insert a tube to support the damaged vessel.
He was conscious and recovering in intensive care, party officials said.
The suspect, who was quickly subdued by party members and police officers at the scene, was aged about 67 and bought the 18cm knife online, police said. He may have been in Busan for days, planning the attack.
Police on Wednesday raided the suspect's residence and office in the central city of Asan, with local media showing images of officers searching a real estate firm.
The leader of the conservative People Power Party scaled back scheduled public events, and both parties urged members to refrain from comments that could inflame voters as Lee recuperates.
While South Korea has a history of political violence leaders are not usually under close security protection.
Lee's predecessor, Song Young-gil, was hurt in 2022 by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head.
Then conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was slashed in the face in 2006.
Her father, Park Chung-hee, who was president for 16 years, was shot and killed by his spy chief in 1979 at a drunken private dinner.
With AP
