South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung stabbed during news conference

An unidentified man stabbed South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung during a visit to the southeastern city of Busan on Tuesday, said emergency officials, adding that he was conscious but his exact condition was not known, AP reported.

Busan’s emergency office said Lee, head of the main opposition Democratic Party, was attacked as he visited the construction site of a new airport in the city. 

South Korean media cited witnesses as saying the man used a knife-like weapon to stab Lee’s neck. TV video showed Lee lying on the ground with a person pressing a handkerchief to his neck to stop the bleeding.

The reports said police arrested the man on the spot. They said the attacker was wearing something that looked like a crown on his head.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed "deep concern" for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was stabbed in the neck on Tuesday, according to AFP reports. 

Yoon expressed "deep concern over the safety of Lee Jae-myung upon hearing of the attack", his spokeswoman Kim Soo-kyung said. "Yoon emphasized our society should never tolerate this kind of act of violence under any circumstances."

Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to President Yoon Suk Yeol by a narrow margin. The liberal former provincial governor is known for his outspoken style, as per AP reports. 

His supporters see him as an anti-elitist hero who could reform establishment politics, eradicate corruption, and solve growing economic inequality. Critics view him as a dangerous populist who relies on stoking divisions and demonizing his conservative opponents.

(With inputs from agencies)