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The individual suspected of stabbing Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, identified by the surname Kim, is taken to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency in the southeastern port city’s Yeonje District. (Yonhap)

The individual who attacked Lee Jae-myung, the leader of Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, was identified as a man surnamed Kim born in 1957.

The assailant was identified as a 67-year-old surnamed Kim who lives in South Chungcheong Province, a representative of the special investigative headquarters at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said in a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

Kim is accused of having stabbed Lee on the left side of his neck while Lee was leaving the Daehang Observatory on Gadeok Island in Busan’s Gangseo District at 10:29 am on Tuesday morning.

At the time of the attack, Kim had been concealing a knife in the pocket of his dark blue jacket. When Lee came closer, Kim approached him on the pretext of getting his autograph before striking him in the neck with the knife clutched in his right hand.

According to the police, Kim had prepared for the assault by making an online purchase last year of a knife with a total length of 18 centimeters and a blade of 13 centimeters (5 inches). He had reportedly worked at a company in Seoul and then, after reaching retirement age, had worked as a real estate agent in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.

“He would open for business at 8 am and usually said very little about politics. I have no idea why he would have gone all the way to Busan to do something like that,” said another real estate agent whose office is adjacent to Kim’s.

“He generally worked alone with no interaction with other real estate professionals in the area. I’m told his family members live in Seoul,” said another real estate agent in the neighborhood.

The police have secured testimony from Kim stating that he’d intended to kill Lee Jae-myung, leading them to believe he had clear-cut intent to commit murder. As a result, they plan to charge Kim with attempted murder in their investigation.

The police said that they haven’t determined a concrete motive for the crime, nor have they turned up any accomplices so far. Rumors spread on social media that Kim was a member of the Democratic Party, but the police said they haven’t confirmed whether he was officially affiliated with any party.

Another rumor on social media is that this wasn’t Kim’s first attempt to harm Lee. That theory is backed up by photographs and videos of a man in a headband resembling the blue crown-shaped headband Kim wore when attacking Lee that were taken during a meeting of the Supreme Council held at the party’s Busan chapter and a meeting with victims of real estate fraud that Lee attended on Dec. 13. A man who is thought to be Kim appears in the video holding a placard that says “I am Lee Jae-myung” along with an object presumed to be a pen.

“We plan to concentrate on learning the motive for the crime on the assumption that this was a premeditated crime,” said Park Jun-gyeong, a detective with the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, during the press briefing on Tuesday.

A police representative said the police had only carried out routine measures for preventing crime such as a preliminary safety sweep around Gimhae Airport when Lee visited Busan because the Democratic Party hadn’t requested any additional measures.

By Kim Gyu-hyun, staff reporter; Song In-geol, Daejeon correspondent; Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter

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