(Bloomberg) -- The man accused of stabbing the leader of South Korea’s biggest opposition party had followed the politician for months and wanted to prevent him from becoming president, police said at a news briefing.

The 66-year-old assailant, who was identified only by his last name of Kim, was trying to kill Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who survived the attack that took place about a week ago, police said. The suspect had gone to several previous political rallies that Lee had attended to plot the course of the attack, police said Wednesday.

Lee, who failed in a run for the presidency in the last election, is one of the more polarizing figures in the country’s current political landscape. He has endeared himself to left-leaning voters with pledges to install a basic universal income. 

Read: South Korean Opposition Leader Stabbed in Neck, Hospitalized 

But Lee was also indicted in March of last year on charges including breach of duty and bribery. In August, prosecutors charged Lee with third-party bribery in connection with a company that allegedly transferred about $3 million illegally to North Korea to facilitate Lee’s visit to Pyongyang, Yonhap News Agency and other media reported.

“The assailant expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of punishment of Lee, including delayed court trials,” said an official from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. The suspect “stated his intention was to prevent the politician from becoming president and gaining a majority of seats in the upcoming general election,” the official said.

The investigation showed the suspect had moved to political extremism, police said. Further details on the political beliefs of the suspect, who is being held in custody on an attempted murder charge, were not released by police due to an article included in the Political Parties Act, which prohibits such disclosures. 

Lee’s Democratic Party is trying to keep its majority in April elections for parliament. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who defeated Lee in the race for the top office, is looking to end gridlock in government by having his conservative People Power Party take control.

Yoon condemned the attack on his political rival and called for a thorough probe. A special investigation team looked into about 40 people, including the assailant. The team searched the office and car of the suspect as well as his phone records and bank transactions.

Support for Lee has also wavered in his own party, as was apparent in September when some of its members joined with conservative lawmakers to approve a motion authorizing an arrest warrant for Lee on graft charges.

Read: South Korea Parliament Approves Opposition Leader Arrest Warrant

Lee was walking through a group of reporters last week when the incident occurred. Lee had been touring the site of a new airport in Busan when the suspect approached and asked for an autograph, whereupon he stabbed Lee in the neck with a knife that had a 13-centimeter (5-inch) blade, a police official said in a news briefing. Lee collapsed after the assault.

Lee was treated in Busan and then airlifted to a hospital in Seoul, where he underwent about two hours of surgery. He was released on Wednesday. 

“I sincerely hope that this incident, which surprised everyone, will be a milestone in ending the politics of hate, the politics of confrontation, and restoring a proper politics of mutual respect and co-existence,” Lee told reporters after he was discharged from the hospital in Seoul. 

There have been several high-profile cases of political violence in recent years in South Korea ahead of elections. In 2022, Lee’s predecessor Song Young-gil was attacked by a man with a hammer during a campaign event and was treated for a gash to his skull. 

In 2006, former President Park Geun-hye, who was then the leader of the major opposition party, was treated for an 11-centimeter cut on her face when a man attacked her during a campaign appearance. Park is the daughter of assassinated former President Park Chung Hee.

A former factory worker who later became a civil rights lawyer, Lee has been in politics for more than 15 years as a member of the progressive camp — becoming governor of Gyeonggi province surrounding Seoul in 2018.

 

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