Tag: Lee Jae-myung

Expect Lee Jae-myung to play up his one centimeter puncture wound as much as possible:

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), speaks to reporters in front of Seoul National University Hospital on Jan. 10, 2024, eight days after he underwent surgery on a knife wound sustained in an attack. (Yonhap)

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will not be able to attend hearings in his corruption trial for the time being because he has yet to recover from a stabbing attack, his legal representative said Friday.

“It seems it will be hard (for Lee) to attend the trials for now,” Lee’s lawyer said during a preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court. “On the face of it, he seemed to have trouble even speaking.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I am not a doctor, but I am not sure how a one centimeter wound to the juglar vein impacts the vocal cords?

It will be interesting to see what more comes out about the motivations for the stabbing of Lee Jae-myung. Was this guy really a right wing wacko posing as a Democratic Party member as many online are portraying him?:

The man apprehended for attacking Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, a 67-year-old individual surnamed Kim, is taken to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

The real estate agent surnamed Kim who attacked Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday in Busan has been found to have been a member of the People Power Party (PPP) for several years before joining the Democratic Party 10 months ago.

Kim’s acquaintances have testified that he frequently joined the far-right “Taegeukgi rallies” and enjoyed watching political content on YouTube.

The police, in connection to the statements made by Kim’s acquaintances about his party membership, checked relevant materials with the cooperation of the PPP and the Democratic Party after obtaining a search warrant from the court on Wednesday.

Article 24 of the Political Parties Act stipulates that the roster of party members “shall not be subject to inspection, with the exception of the case where a court requests it in the interests of a judgment, and where an election management commission concerned wants to confirm a matter pertaining to a party member.” It also states that a writ issued by a judge is compulsory in the event of a criminal investigation.

According to officials from both the PPP and the Democratic Party, Kim was a member of the United Future Party, the predecessor of the PPP, and joined the Democratic Party in March 2023 and remained a member until recently.

A Democratic Party official stated that Kim was “known to be a local party member in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.”

Hankyoreh

You can read more at the link.

If you are wondering why police are not disclosing more information about the political ideology of the suspect who stabbed Lee Jae-myung, it is because of a law that prevents them from doing so:

The decision by the police not to disclose the political affiliations of the man who attacked Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), with a knife, has sparked controversy. The DPK has criticized law enforcement authorities for sharing investigative information selectively.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced, Monday, that its identity disclosure committee would convene a meeting on Tuesday to determine whether to release the personal information of the 67-year-old male suspect, identified so far only by the surname Kim.

If the committee decides in favor of further disclosure, Kim’s full name, age and photo will be released.

However, the police stressed that the history of his political affiliations would remain undisclosed, irrespective of the committee’s decision.

“Technically, it cannot be disclosed as per relevant laws. We are currently discussing with the prosecution about the matter. But if we disclose (his political affiliations), there could be penalties,” an official at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said during a press briefing.

The official was referring to the Political Parties Act, which bans investigative bodies from publicly sharing information about a suspect’s political affiliations that could be ascertained during investigations. Violation of this law may lead to imprisonment of up to three years.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but police could face up to 3-years in jail if they released the information.

Here is the latest on the Lee Jae-myung stabbing, the criminal who committed the crime may have had an accomplice:

The suspect behind the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is seen being escorted to a court on Jan. 4, 2024, for a hearing. (Yonhap)

 Police have detained a man in his 70s for investigation on suspicions of aiding and abetting the suspect in the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, officials said Monday.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said the man was put under emergency detention the previous day on suspicions of helping the 67-year-old assailant, identified by his surname Kim, commit the crime, even though he was aware of the attack plan.

Kim stabbed Lee, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), in the neck with a camping knife in the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 2. Lee underwent surgery to repair a major vein in his neck and has since been recovering at a hospital in Seoul.

Ahead of the crime, Kim had written an “excuse letter” to explain the motive of his crime and his political beliefs, and the 70-something man agreed to send the letter on Kim’s behalf by mail to an unspecified location, according to police.

Police plan to question him over whether he colluded with Kim in connection with the stabbing attack.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is horrible and hopefully Lee Jae-myung is able to fully recover from this attack:

 Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday and taken to a hospital while conscious.

Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, was attacked on the left side of his neck by an unidentified man at 10:27 a.m. during a question and answer session with reporters after touring the construction site of a new airport on Busan’s Gadeok Island.

Lee was transferred to Pusan National University Hospital approximately 20 minutes after the attack.

At the time of the transfer, Lee remained conscious, but the bleeding continued.

The male suspect, pretending to be one of Lee’s supporters, approached the politician asking for an autograph and then carried out the attack with an unidentified weapon approximately 20-30 centimeters in length, according to eyewitnesses. 

He was arrested at the scene.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is not the first time political violence like this has happened in South Korea. Park Geun-hye was slashed in the face in 2006 and U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert’s face and neck back in 2015. Hopefully the man that committed this latest political violence spends a long time in jail.

Here is the DP once again demagoging a tragic accident to score political points. There was clearly poor planning at the local level that contributed to this tragedy, however the opposition makes it seem like President Yoon should of been out there leading crowd control that tragic night:

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, delivers a speech at Seoul Plaza in the capital city during a memorial event to mark the first anniversary of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations last year, in this photo taken on Sunday. (Yonhap)

The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Sunday to get to the truth about the deadly Itaewon crowd crush and work to hold those accountable to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Lee made the pledge during a memorial event held to mark the first anniversary of the deadly crowd crush that took the lives of 159 people during Halloween celebrations in the popular hangout district of Itaewon.

“It has been one year since 159 universes, and 159 worlds collapsed, but nothing has changed. The desperate appeals by the bereaved families are again ignored today, and those in power are only bent on covering up the truth,” Lee said in a speech at Seoul Plaza.

“We will reveal the truth by quickly passing special legislation on the Itaewon tragedy, hold those responsible accountable and make sure something like this won’t happen again,” Lee said.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Here is what prosecutors have to say about a Korean court dropping the arrest warrant against Lee Jae-myung this week:

In the left photo, ruling People Power Party Chairman Kim Gi-hyeon, left, and other party lawmakers hold banners condemning a court’s decision to reject a warrant for the arrest of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, during a lawmakers’ meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday. In the right photo, DPK floor leader Hong Ihk-pyo, front, applauds with other party members during a lawmakers’ meeting at the Assembly, Wednesday. Yonhap

Following the dismissal of the warrant, prosecutors said that the decision could have been affected by Lee’s political status.

“There seems to be a stark difference between the prosecution and the court regarding the decision and its grounds,” Prosecutor-General Lee One-seok told reporters Wednesday.

“Although the court recognized the prosecution’s claims of illegalities, it apparently focused on providing defense rights to Lee based on his status as the chairman of a political party.” He added that judicial matters should not be influenced by political factors.

“An arrest warrant is nothing more than part of the process of investigating crimes, and the dismissal does not mean innocence,” Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said.

“Even if a politician commits a crime, the judiciary does not and should not become political,” Han added. “I believe the prosecution will continue its investigation without being swayed.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Lee Jae-myung will avoid being arrested and detained as the investigation into the corruption charges around him continues:

 A Seoul court on Wednesday rejected an arrest warrant sought for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung over corruption charges, a decision that averted the biggest crisis yet for the former presidential candidate. 

The Seoul Central District Court made the decision following a hearing attended by Lee, chair of the Democratic Party (DP). It marked the first time the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party has attended an arrest warrant hearing.

“In comprehensive consideration of the degree to which the defendant’s right to defense is needed and the extent of concerns about the possible destruction of evidence, it is difficult to see the rationale and need for his arrest to the extent that the principle of investigation without detention should be ruled out,” a court judge said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.