The centre-left politician Lee was attacked with a knife and injured in the neck during a public appearance in Busan on January 2. - Reuters
SEOUL: A man who tried to assassinate former South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae Myung earlier this year was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday (July 5).
The district court in the southern city of Busan found the 67-year-old defendant guilty of attempted murder.
The knife attack had been carefully planned for months, the national Yonhap news agency reported. The defendant had reportedly "accumulated hatred against the victim for a long time because he held different political views."
The centre-left politician Lee was attacked with a knife and injured in the neck during a public appearance in Busan on January 2. The perpetrator was arrested at the scene.
After an operation, Lee was able to leave hospital a few days later. The 59-year-old was still chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea at the time, a post he resigned from in June. He is expected to stand for re-election as chairman at a party congress in August.
According to reports, the court also found the attacker guilty of violating election law, because the attack constituted an attempt to undermine the electoral system and representative democracy.
The attack took place three months before parliamentary elections in South Korea, in which the social-liberal opposition under Lee emerged victorious. - DPA
