hankyoreh

The man apprehended for attacking Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, a 67-year-old individual surnamed Kim, is taken to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

The real estate agent surnamed Kim who attacked Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday in Busan has been found to have been a member of the People Power Party (PPP) for several years before joining the Democratic Party 10 months ago.

Kim’s acquaintances have testified that he frequently joined the far-right “Taegeukgi rallies” and enjoyed watching political content on YouTube.

The police, in connection to the statements made by Kim’s acquaintances about his party membership, checked relevant materials with the cooperation of the PPP and the Democratic Party after obtaining a search warrant from the court on Wednesday.

Article 24 of the Political Parties Act stipulates that the roster of party members “shall not be subject to inspection, with the exception of the case where a court requests it in the interests of a judgment, and where an election management commission concerned wants to confirm a matter pertaining to a party member.” It also states that a writ issued by a judge is compulsory in the event of a criminal investigation.

According to officials from both the PPP and the Democratic Party, Kim was a member of the United Future Party, the predecessor of the PPP, and joined the Democratic Party in March 2023 and remained a member until recently.

A Democratic Party official stated that Kim was “known to be a local party member in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.”

The secretary-general of the PPP, Jang Dong-hyuk, announced to the press that he had provided confirmation to prosecutors on whether Kim had a registration with the party.

“I wish to state that the suspect does not currently have a registration with the People Power Party,” he said. He also explained that Kim had a party registration for four to five years before leaving the United Future Party in 2020.

Family members and acquaintances also shared their accounts of Kim’s political leanings.

Kim’s nephew, a 57-year-old identified by the surname Lee, told the Hankyoreh in a telephone interview on Wednesday that Kim had “attended Taegeukgi rallies at Gwanghwamun several times around four to five years ago.”

The proprietor of a convenience store near Kim’s real estate agency said, “Whenever he came to buy something, he would always have political YouTube videos playing loudly on his smartphone.”

On Wednesday afternoon, police conducted a search and seizure on Kim’s real estate agency and residence in Asan’s Baebang township.

In a briefing that day, the Busan Metropolitan Police headquarters investigating the attack on Lee said it had no other confirmed charges against Kim as yet apart from attempted homicide. It also said it was “looking into the possibility of an accomplice.”

Based on Kim’s statement that he “intended to kill” Lee and the fact that he modified the weapon — purchased through an online shopping mall last year — to make it easier to use, police believe that Kim’s attack on Lee was premeditated.

Through their questioning, police established that Kim departed his home in Asan by train on Monday to arrive in Busan. He then traveled to Ulsan before returning to Busan the same day.

On Wednesday evening, the police requested an arrest warrant on charges of attempted homicide. Kim’s pre-detention suspect questioning (warrant review) was scheduled to take place at 2 pm on Thursday.

Police are investigating the possibility that Kim followed Lee for some time with the intent of harming him.

A video taken at the time Lee attended a Supreme Council meeting at the local Democratic Party chapter in Busan on Dec. 13 showed Kim wearing the same blue crown-shaped headband that he wore at the time of the stabbing, along with another man who was dressed similarly to Kim and wore the same style of headband.

An official with the police said, “We’re focusing our investigation on establishing Mr. Kim’s recent activities and the exact motivation for the crime.”

By Kim Yeong-dong, Busan correspondent; Um Ji-won, staff reporter

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