BURSTSouth Korean Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, of the ruling People Power Party, on Thursday became the second politician to be attacked this month, raising concerns about heightened political violence in the Asian nation.
Bae, 40, was approached by a young pedestrian who asked, “Are you the lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin?” before he struck the lawmaker in the back of her head with a fist-sized rock, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an aide from Bae’s office.
CCTV footage later released from her office, according to Yonhap News, showed that the assailant — who was wearing a mask and a beanie and was dressed in a hoodie — struck the lawmaker 15 times within 10 seconds before onlookers “physically engaged the suspect.”
The news agency said Bae’s aides apprehended him, and he was later arrested on scene by Gangham police, who said the assailant was 15 years old.
Bae was transported to the Soonchunhyang University Hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening conditions. She remains stable, her office said.
Bae’s neurosurgeon, Park Sukh-que, said in a press conference that she sustained a cut of about 1 cm and had some swelling, but she was not exhibiting any concussion symptoms. She would remain in the hospital, stabilized, to make sure she did not have any delayed internal bleeding, Park said.
"When she arrived at the emergency room, she was conscious and was bleeding from the head," Park told reporters, according to Yonhap news. "She seemed a little upset but at the moment, she is in stable condition in her patient room."
The attack comes just a few weeks after Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, was stabbed in the neck by a man who tried to kill the politician, police said at the time.
Lee called the attack on Bae an act of “political terrorism” and said, “My scar is aching again after this unbelievable incident,” the Associated Press reported.
“There needs to be a thorough and decisive response. We pray for a speedy recovery for lawmaker Bae and our hearts go out to her family,” Lee said.