hankyoreh

Mar. 8. (provided by Yonsei Severance Hospital)

Yonsei Severance Hospital in Seoul’s Sinchon neighborhood announced on Mar. 8 that Lippert’s condition was improving rapidly and that he could be discharged as early as Mar. 10.

“He‘s recovering very quickly,” hospital director Yoon Do-heum said of Lippert during a morning briefing.

“His blood pressure and body temperature are normal, and there are no symptoms of inflammation or anything else in his femoral region, where he suffered excoration, or on his left arm, where he suffered a penetrating wound,” Yoon added.

“Because there has been almost no pain except during treatment, we currently plan to remove the stitches between the evening of Mar. 9 and Mar. 10, and to discharge the patient either on the afternoon of Mar. 10 or the morning of Mar. 11,” he continued.

Lippert, who had eaten Korean food the evening before, continued on a diet of mostly Korean food that morning, the hospital said.

Robert Ogburn, minister-counselor for public affairs at the US Embassy, said Lippert was “overwhelmed by the messages of support for him.”

“The ambassador said kimchi is helping him recover,” Ogburn added.

Ogburn also said Lippert was rereading “The Two Koreas,” a book about contemporary South Korean history, to better under the history of the Korean Peninsula.

Among the visitors to Lippert’s hospital room was Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler. Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung, who also visited that day, encourage Lippert to “get well quickly so we can have a glass of soju together.”

“Absolutely,” Lippert is reported to have said.

By Oh Seung-hoon, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]