A member of parliament from the ruling People Power Party in South Korea, Bae Hyun-jin, was ‘attacked’ on a street in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Reports indicated that she was struck in the head with an object by an unidentified assailant, resulting in her hospitalisation for injuries and bleeding. The attacker was swiftly arrested at the scene, media reports said.
This incident follows a previous attack on the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, who was stabbed in the neck earlier in January and later underwent surgery.
The arrest of the suspect took place at the crime scene. As per South Korea’s local news agency, the perpetrator told the police authorities that he was 15 years of age.
Describing the moments leading up to the attack, which resulted in non-life-threatening injuries to the parliamentarian, the reports said that before stabbing her the attacker asked Bae her name.
A small stone was reportedly used to carry out the attack, as per reports. The motive behind the attack is not clear. Not much is known about the suspect.
People Party spokesman Jung Hee-yong in a statement said, “We can’t help but feel saddened by (Thursday’s) attack.”
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“We urge a thorough investigation and stern action against the perpetrator,” the representative added. As per the latest, party’s interim leader Han Dong-hoon reportedly said that Bae was recovering at the hospital.
AFP reported that the ruling party MP was taken to Seoul’s Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital. She was reportedly hit on the back of her head.
Murder rate in South Korea
In 2021, official statistics indicated that South Korea maintains a good level of safety, boasting a low murder rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people. This figure stands below the global average, which is reported at six homicide deaths per 100,000 people.
(With inputs from agencies)
