UPDATE - South Korean opposition leader undergoes surgery in Seoul after neck stabbing attack

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS OF LATEST, PREVIOUS ATTACKS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was airlifted to the capital Seoul after he was stabbed in the neck in the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday.

His Democratic Party called the incident as an "act of political terror."

Lee was stabbed on the left side of his neck during a question-and-answer session with journalists after visiting the construction site of a new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island.

Officials told Seoul-based Yonhap News that the wound on Lee's neck was "not life-threatening" but he was transported to Seoul National University Hospital for "surgery amid fears of additional bleeding."

The opposition party said the surgery was completed but "took longer than expected" and they are "closely following his progress."

"We strongly condemn the act of political terror against Lee," the party said at the hospital, calling for a thorough probe.

Earlier an official at the hospital said "it is fortunate that the damaged area is the jugular vein" since Lee could have immediately died at the scene if the wound had occurred on the carotid artery.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed "deep concern" over safety of Lee.

"Such violence should never be tolerated under any circumstances," Yoon said.

The male attacker surnamed Kim, born in 1957, was apprehended at the scene while Lee was rushed for emergency treatment at Pusan National University Hospital.

He was conscious when being shifted to the hospital.

Lee was responding to questions by reporters when a "paper crown-wearing man in his 60s posing as an autograph-seeker at 10.27 a.m. (0127GMT)" attacked him.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said it is mulling murder charges against Kim "as he has confessed to intending to kill Lee."

"An investigation is underway for matters such as the exact motive," police officer Soh Je-han told a news conference.

It is not yet clear whether Kim is member of any political party.

The attack on Lee reminded many of similar one on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot at in western Nara city during an elections campaign meeting in July 2022.

Later that day, he died of gunshot wounds.

In April last year, Japanese authorities arrested a suspect after throwing a cylindrical object resulting in an explosion at a site where incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was scheduled to speak.

He, however, escaped unhurt.

*Iclal Turan contributed to this story from Washington.