Assaulted PPP lawmaker says attack 'should not happen to anyone else'

People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin said the attack she suffered “should not happen to anyone else," alluding to a series of attacks on politicians in Korea in the months leading up to the general election...

People Power Party Rep. Bae Hyun-jin in a meeting at the National Assembly in this file photo dated July 11, 2022. [NEWS1]

People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin said the attack she suffered “should not happen to anyone else," alluding to a series of attacks on politicians in Korea in the months leading up to the general election.

“After I recover fully, I will work harder than ever to keep my promise to keep the people and my Songpa residents safe,” Bae wrote on Facebook after she was discharged from Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital in Seoul on Saturday.

“At the time of the incident, I wondered if this was how I would die, but now, thanks to the help and care of many people, I am receiving treatment and recovering well,” she wrote.

Bae said she would recover from home for a while before returning to her office. Bae is a first-time lawmaker elected in 2020 to represent an election district of the Songpa District, southern Seoul.

The 41-year-old lawmaker was attacked with a rock by an assailant — reportedly a 15-year-old — in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District in southern Seoul, at 5:18 p.m. last Thursday.

She was on her way to a hair salon when the assailant approached her.

The assailant reportedly asked the lawmaker twice if she was Bae before hitting her repeatedly with a rock, striking her 17 times in 18 seconds until the rock split.

The CCTV footage of the attacker striking the People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin in a building in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, last Thursday. [NEWS1]

Video footage released by Bae’s office shows that the assault continued even when the lawmaker fell to the ground.

The brutal attack was halted when employees from a restaurant on the first floor of the building where she was assaulted rushed to the scene after hearing her cries for help.

Additional footage outside the building shows the assailant, wearing a mask and a beanie, roaming around the area for approximately 30 minutes before Bae's arrival.

The assailant, arrested on site, was questioned by the police and subsequently checked into a mental health institution last Friday.

Police can enforce this measure when they deem the suspect to be suffering mental health issues that pose a threat to themselves and others. Under existing regulations, individuals suspected of having such mental health issues can be held in a mental health institution for up to three days.

Authorities investigate the site of the attack on Bae in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

The assailant is reportedly a student from a middle school in Daechi-dong of Gangnam District, not far from where he attacked Bae. Media reports, citing hospital staff, say he suffers from bi-polar disorder.

The police have withheld information about the assailant other than that he was an underage student.

The attack on Bae was not the first recent assault on a politician in Korea.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by a 67-year-old man, identified only as Kim, during a visit to Busan on Jan. 2.

Lee suffered a 1.4-centimeter (0.55-inch) wound to the left side of his neck and was airlifted to Seoul to undergo surgery for a laceration in a vein at Seoul National University Hospital later that day. Prosecutors are investigating the assailant for attempted murder.

Other attacks on politicians include one on former President Park Geun-hye when she was then leader of the conservative Grand National Party in May 2006. A man named Ji Choong-ho attacked her with a utility knife while she was campaigning in Sinchon-dong of western Seoul.

Ji was later sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Supreme Court in 2007. He was released upon completion of his sentence.

Foreign diplomats have also fallen victim to random attacks.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert suffered cuts to the face and arm when he was attacked by a man named Kim Ki-jong with a 24-centimeter (9.4 inches) long knife in May 2015. Kim was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder in 2016.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]