S. Korea: Assailant slashes South Korea's main opposition leader with box cutter

AP ^ | 05/20/06

[TigerLikesRooster]

Assailant slashes South Korea's main opposition leader with box cutter

Sat May 20, 09:56 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A man attacked the leader of South Korea's main opposition party with a box cutter Saturday, leaving a long but not life-threatening wound on her face, a party official and police said.

Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the Grand National Party, was campaigning in the South Korean capital, Seoul, for upcoming local elections when she was attacked, said Lee Jung-hyun, a spokesman for the party.

Park suffered a 10-centimetre cut on her face and was undergoing surgery in a Seoul hospital, Lee said, adding that she required 40-60 stitches.

"It's not a life-threatening one," he said.

Lee said the attacker, a man, wielded a box cutter as Park walked onto a makeshift podium at a street campaign rally to make a speech in support of her party's candidate for Seoul mayor.

The suspect was detained at the scene, said an officer at Seoul's Seodaemun Police Station, without identifying himself. He didn't provide any more details, including the suspect's name and the motive, saying an investigation was underway.

But South Korea's Yonhap news agency described the assailant as being 50 years of age, and reported that another man, described as an accomplice, was also in custody. It also said the two were heavily drunk at the time of the attack.

Hospital officials declined to comment.

The presidential office and political parties condemned the attack.

"Any form of election violence should not be tolerated," said presidential spokesman Jung Tae-ho, according to Yonhap. "The incident has to be thoroughly investigated."

Ruling Uri party leader Chung Dong-young also called for a thorough probe and punishment.

Official campaigning began this week for the May 31 elections that will select mayors, governors and members of local councils across the country.

The GNP is the country's largest opposition force, with 125 seats in the 297-member, unicameral assembly. The ruling Uri party has 142 seats.

Park, 54, is the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea for 18 years after taking power in a 1961 military coup.

Park's parents were both victims of political violence.

Her mother, Yook Young-soo, was gunned down in 1974 by an ethnic Korean man from Japan who aimed at her husband during a ceremony to mark Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Five years later, Park's father was shot to death by the then chief of the state intelligence agency.

[TigerLikesRooster]

The cut is reportedly rather "deep," even though photos show no bleeding. She covered the wounded area with her hand. News reports say that it would be a few months before she will be able to speak again. Judging from photos, her wound is close to her right-hand jaw-line.

So far assailants seem to be a couple of kooks who are self-styled ruling party supporters. One of them was convicted 8 times for aggravated assault. There are many true nutballs and kooks in pro-government circle. Either pro-North or pro-Kim Dae-jung(pinko ex-president.)

Opposition party is expected to have a rout on Mar. 31 local election, where many governers and big city mayors are elected. Ruling party thoroughly lost their support through their 3-year old incompetent rule driven by rigid ideological impulse. It is no wonder that many screws are getting loose. We cannot rule out more kook attacks.

The Moment of Attack (you can see the light-blue box-cutter in the front of the picture.)

The Perp being Restrained

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Jet Jaguar]

Bump.

[Carry_Okie]

Nutballs or no, they got too close. One would think that, with an extensive history of political violence, candidates would routinely have more effective security, especially one with the Park family's experience. That anyone did get so close could indicate an intentional breakdown in security and the potential for government complicity (IOW a mole among the security people).

Thoughts?

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #4

Ms. Park does try to shun heavy security to look more accessible to people. On the other hand, police response at the scene was reportedly far from adequate. A predictable back-handed slap by the government. They just pretend to be serious.

This is the same attitude they display against U.S., too.

Anyway, she is now a political martyr of sorts. With her face in bandages, whenever she shows up, ruling party loses a lot of votes. Hacking Park's face with a box-cutter is a political suicide.

[Poundstone]

Those Koreans are really nuts!

[Carry_Okie]

Odd that she got her first degree in electrical engineering.

In my book, that's actually a plus.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #7

She was set to pursue her degree in France when her mother was assassinated. She had to come back and took over the role of first lady.

[Carry_Okie]

She was set to pursue her degree in France when her mother was assassinated.

There's nothing quite like a reality check to re-order one's priorities and make the real stakes in life uncomfortably clear. The left made a life-long enemy that day.

The real question is: Is she walking a tightrope toward honorable goals or is she an oligarch first?

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #9

She is not arrayed with powerful business interests now. All those powerful interests shy away from conservative opposition for fear of government retribution. Even in some case, business interest proactively courted and abetted current government. You may be surprised to hear this, but it is Samsung. Partly try to shield itself from the fallout of previous aggressive betting on current opposition, Samsung, using its affiliated major daily, JoongAng Ilbo, parroted what is called center-left rhetoric, and appeasement policy. Government still leaned on Samsung questioning the mechanism of passing Samsung's control from current chairman to his son. The conservatives are actually short of money. The government made sure of that. If any major corp. gives some money to conservative party or even thinktank or civic organization, it will be hit with tax audit and other criminal investigations.

It is usually politicians who extort money with a threat of such government actions, and businessmen have to secure extra fund such purpose. Then politicians turn around and punish business for creating a slush fund. Of course, some business people get proactive and bet the horse right, they can go scot free. The executive branch can still jerk around the judicial branch here, which makes winning a presidential election an event par none.

I do not see Park as typical oligarch product like Phillipines' Arroyo.

[TigerLikesRooster]

The assailant in action:

[Carry_Okie]

She is not arrayed with powerful business interests now. All those powerful interests shy away from conservative opposition for fear of government retribution.

The mutually corrupting influence of influence for sale.

You may be surprised to hear this, but it is Samsung.

Not at all. Faced with the reality of competing with slave labor in China, they will likely seek slave labor in the North, if they haven't already. For that they need a complicit government.

Such are the misbegotten fruits of extending WTO status to the Chinese in return for borrowed money to fight a lavish war.

The conservatives are actually short of money.

As it is here. Buying favors from corrupt leftists is the way to stay in business. The corollary is that selling favors to business is the only way leftists can get the cash to stay in power (now that most rational people have rejected their economic policies).

I do not see Park as typical oligarch product like Phillipines' Arroyo.

Good to hear. I assume hers is the usual conservative constituency of disaffected youth, professionals, small business, and those old enough to remember tyranny.