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Two days ahead of South Korea’s presidential election, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party was the victim of an unprecedented attack while campaigning.

At 12:05 pm on Monday, Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil was greeting voters at a plaza in front of the U-Plex department store in Seoul’s Sinchon neighborhood when he was accosted by a 70-year-old YouTube personality surnamed Pyo, who struck him several times on the head with a blunt weapon.

Pyo had been standing near Song when he suddenly attacked him with the object, which was concealed in a black plastic bag. Pyo was immediately apprehended at the scene and arrested on charges of obstruction of campaign activities and aggravated bodily injury.

Song was transported to Severance Hospital at nearby Yonsei University, where he received stitches.

“Song was struck in the back of the head with a hammer and received emergency sutures,” Kim Young-jin, secretary-general of the party, told reporters outside the Severance Hospital emergency room.

“A CT scan showed partial caving in the outer layer of his cranium, but the opinion was that it was a concussion without any internal or tissue damage to the brain or cerebral hemorrhage,” he said.

Kim also quoted Song as saying after the incident that “even if you have differences of opinion, violence is unacceptable” and that he “hoped the election process would be an occasion for national unity rather than hatred or antagonism.”

After learning of the attack against Song, President Moon Jae-in declared, “Election violence is an act of terrorism against democracy,” according to Blue House spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.

“Such things must not happen,” he was quoted as saying.

Both ruling and opposition parties condemned violence as an “act that threatens democracy.”

While campaigning at Changseon Intersection in Busan, Democratic Party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung said, “Violence is an unacceptable act that imperils our precious democracy.”

In a Facebook message, People Power Party nominee Yoon Suk-yeol wrote, “There is no justification for any kind of violence that obstructs an election.”

“I hope that Song’s injury is not severe,” he added.

The individual who attacked Song, identified only by the last name Pyo, was apprehended after bludgeoning Song with a hammer just after noon on March 7 in front of the U-Plex department store in Seoul’s Sinchon. (provided by Hong Seo-yun, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s central campaign committee)

Police are investigating the motive behind Pyo’s attack. Videos posted to his YouTube channel indicated that he had been following Song on the campaign trail since February.

After he attacked Song, he reportedly shouted his opposition to South Korea-US joint military exercises and declared, “We cannot leave young people with a world like this.”

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter; Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter

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