PPP lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin hospitalized after being attacked by '15 year-old boy'

She is the second politician to be attacked since Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Jan. 2.

People Power Party Bae Hyun-jin in May 2023. [YONHAP]

People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin has been rushed to the hospital after being attacked on the street in Seoul on Thursday.

The assailant reportedly hit the back of Bae's head with a rock at a building in Sinsa-dong in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, around 5 p.m.

She was rushed to Soon Chun Hyang University Seoul Hospital in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

Her injury is reportedly not life-threatening.

The assailant, who claimed to be 15 years old, was taken into custody by the police on the scene.

According to the lawmakers’ office, the unidentified assailant reportedly asked the lawmaker if she was Bae before launching the attack.

Bae reportedly bled from the attack. However, she remained conscious.

She is the second politician to be attacked since Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Jan. 2.

The head of the DP party was stabbed with a 13-centimeter (5-inch) customized blade by a 67-year-old assailant while touring Gadeok Island in Busan, where a new international airport is to be built.

The assailant approached the DP leader as a supporter, wearing a blue paper crown with his name on it, and asked for an autograph before lunging at Lee.

Lee sustained a stab wound on his left neck, which was operated on at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul after being rushed to the hospital in Busan.

Tensions are heightening between supporters of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party with less than 80 days to the general election.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]