A South Korean lawmaker was attacked within the head with a blunt object in Seoul on Thursday and brought to a hospital the place she was handled for accidents that weren’t life-threatening, in response to her workers and medical doctors.
Bae Hyunjin of the Folks's Energy Social gathering is the second South Korean politician to be bodily assaulted whereas in public in lower than a month.
Yang Jaeyu, her chief of workers, mentioned the attacker approached her asking, “Are you Folks's Energy Social gathering lawmaker Bae Hyunjin?” twice earlier than hitting what he known as a “rock object.”
Safety digital camera footage shared by her workplace confirmed the assailant strolling by a door close to her, earlier than repeatedly punching the lawmaker as she fell backwards on the ground and tried to withstand the assault.
She was handled at Seoul's Soonchunhyang College Hospital, Han Dong-hoon, the chief of his celebration, informed reporters Thursday night.
“That is one thing that ought to by no means have occurred,” he mentioned, “and the reality should come out, and the responsible have to be delivered to justice.”
Ms. Bae, 40, a former anchor for South Korean broadcaster MBC, is in her first time period as a legislator. She was elected in 2020. She briefly served as a spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol after his election in 2022.
Docs on the hospital the place she was handled informed reporters that she was aware when she arrived on the emergency room, and that she had suffered a laceration a few centimeter on her head, with no important bleeding or fractures.
The suspect was arrested on the scene and is being investigated by the police, in response to Yonhap, a South Korean information company. The chief detective of the police station in Gangnam district, the place the assault happened, couldn’t be instantly reached.
On January 2, a person stabbed Lee Jae-myung, the chief of South Korea's fundamental opposition celebration, within the neck because the politician made his method by a crowd. Mr. Lee was taken to the hospital and launched about eight days later. The suspect, who mentioned he was politically motivated, was arrested and is anticipated to be charged with tried homicide.
In a press release on social media, Mr Lee known as Thursday's episode “unbelievable” and mentioned: “No political terrorism of any form is suitable.”
Park Jung-ha, spokeswoman for the Folks's Energy Social gathering, mentioned in a press release: “In these turbulent occasions of utmost politics and the politics of hate, we’re deeply involved by one other act of violence and political terrorism “.
The assaults, simply weeks aside towards politicians from each side of the political spectrum, might be a sign of the rising divisions and grudges which have coloured South Korean politics.
Bodily assaults on politicians have been uncommon in South Korea. Probably the most high-profile incident was a 2006 assault on opposition chief Park Geun-hye, a conservative politician who later gained the presidency. She was lower within the face by a person who was a fervent critic.
Choe Sang-Hun contributed report.
