Health

Doctor says South Korean opposition leader recovering well after knife attack

Seoul, Jan 4 (EFE).- South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been discharged from the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and is recovering well from surgery after being stabbed in the neck earlier this week, his surgeon said on Thursday.

“Lee is recovering smoothly but requires continued observation due to concerns over additional infection and post-surgery complications due to the injury he suffered,” Surgeon Min Seung-kee, who operated on him at the Seoul National Hospital, told a press briefing.

The professor from the hospital’s vascular surgery unit explained that Lee sustained a 1.4-centimeter wound on the left side of his neck, specifically damaging his jugular vein but fortunately missed his artery, surrounding nerves, and respiratory tract.

Min added that initial ICU care for patients was customary, as vein reconstruction can lead to more bleeding or complications such as blood clots, but Lee has now been transferred to the hospital’s general ward for the remaining recovery process.

Lee was attacked by a 67-year-old man surnamed Kim during a public event in the city of Busan, 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday.

After receiving urgent treatment in Busan to stop the bleeding, Lee was then airlifted to the South Korean capital for surgery.

The suspect, apprehended on the spot, told the police that he attempted to kill the politician. However, the exact motivations and political affiliation of the assailant remain unknown.

The Busan district court, which had authorized the search of Kim’s residence and office a day earlier, issued an arrest warrant for the assailant on Thursday on the charge of attempted murder.

Outside the courthouse, Kim told journalists that he had submitted an eight-page document to the court explaining the reasons behind the attack. EFE

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