Posted on 05/21/2006 11:13:47 PM PDT by freepatriot32
(Seoul) - Main opposition leader Park Geun-hye was in stable condition Sunday after an assailant slashed her face with a box cutter on the campaign trail in Seoul a day earlier. Park sustained an 11-cm long cut to her face from ear to jaw that required 60 stitches and two hours of surgery, officials at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in Seoul said.
They predict it will be several months before the Grand National party chairwoman can speak normally again. Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye reacts after being attacked with a box cutter during a campaign for the local elections in Seoul, Saturday.
Park was attacked by a man identified by his surname Ji at around 7:30 on Saturday evening when she walked up to the podium to make a speech in support of the GNP candidate for Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon. The eight-time convict leaped out from the crowd and slashed at her face.
Supporters of Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye hold candles in front of Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in Seoul. The wound reaches from right below her right ear to her jaw and runs 3 cm to 1 cm deep. An official with the hospital said had the wound run 2 cm lower toward the neck, it would have cut her carotid artery and endangered her life. If the knife wound was 0.5 cm closer to her ear it could have severed her facial muscles and damaged them permanently, making it difficult for her to articulate or close her mouth. Dr. Tark Kwan-chul, who operated on Park, said it was miracle the knife missed both.
Park is reportedly stable and started to eat thin rice gruel on Sunday, a hospital official added.
The 50 year-old Ji, who has been out on probation since August after some 15 years in jail, also reportedly hit a GNP lawmaker during a rally against the controversial private school reform law last December. Police suspect that the assailant committed the crime out of a sense of grievance against society over his imprisonment.
Right after the attack, a Uri Party member identified as Park (52) caused a further disturbance at the scene, jumping onto the podium swearing and throwing down a microphone. The man has been a member of the party since March 2004 and donated W2,000 (US$2) every month to the ruling party since January last year. The Uri Party immediately revoked his membership.
The two were taken into custody. Police say they will bring charges of assault against Ji and violation of election law against the other man.
englishnews@chosun.com
This "Ji" guy should not be out in society. Look what he did in prison:
"In October 1998, three months after Ji was sent to a care and custody center in North Gyeongsang Province, he got into a fight with his 63-year-old inmate over switching rooms and stamped on his inmate's forehead three times, the ruling said.
His temper also showed the following year when Ji slashed the face of one of the corrections officers with a piece of glass which he illegally obtained, punched the official's face three times, then stabbed the official's neck with the piece of glass again.
"I will kill you. I will kill all of the corrections officials," the ruling quoted Ji as saying after the incident.
Ji confessed in court that it was because he felt discrimination from the official because Ji was the last one to watch television after the other inmates.
In June 2001, Ji again hit the face of one of the corrections officers, angry because he did not get his tableware changed, the ruling states."
from http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/05/22/200605220049.asp
See my Re #17 above.
Ping!
<< What was the guy doing out of prison?
Seems S.Korea is run by the Dems too I guess. >>
The way they've learned to hate everything and everybody American, just like our "Democrats," one has to believe so.
Thank you for the ping and for sharing your knowledge with us.
Those Koreans are really nuts. Ever seen one of the frequent mass brawls in their national assembly?
Some countries aren't ready for democracy, I guess.
No! Large, sharp knives!
Is there a possibility that her political outlook may become more conservative as a consequence of this attack?
What is the time frame for a-d? If the NK strategy fails, what's their next move, prodding the Iranians?
Beijing should take the gloves off when playing chess (or should I say, Go?). Nobody's fooled.
If (a)~(d) are executed, it could be next year. This year, they will work on subtly spooking the electorate and opposition hopefuls, creating inflaming political clashes, and some inter-Korean hoopla, to sway the momentum the other way. Just to the onset of severe political strife.
If their strategy backfires, NK regime could be in political crisis. Internal power struggle may start in earnest. Kim Jong-il may have to do something even more drastic to head it off. In short, things could get really tense.
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