Attacked U.S. envoy expected to leave hospital next week: medical officials

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is in good condition and is expected to leave the hospital next week after having stitches removed from injuries inflicted by an anti-U.S. assailant, hospital officials said Saturday.

"We believe that it is reasonable (for Lippert) to leave the hospital on Wednesday after having his stitches removed on Monday or Tuesday," Yoo Dae-hyun, a plastic surgeon at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital where the U.S. envoy underwent surgery, told reporters in a briefing.

On Thursday, a knife-wielding assailant, named Kim Ki-jong, slashed Lippert's face and wrist at a breakfast function in central Seoul. The ambassador was taken to a hospital and received more than 80 stitches.

The 55-year-old attacker was immediately arrested. As he was hauled away, he shouted opposition to joint military exercises under way between South Korea and the U.S., in line with North Korean rhetoric.

Yoo said the injured envoy is suffering most from pain in his left arm but added that other side effects have mostly been covered through the surgery.

"The wound is clean and the patient is stable. He has resumed daily activities such as walking and has improved to the point of taking a shower," the doctor said.

Yoon Do-heum, head of the hospital, added that Lippert is recovering quickly and was able to talk well with visitors.

"Regarding the wrist pain, which was one of the most serious problems, Lippert said his pain reached the level of 4, down from a higher level of 7 yesterday," he said. In the scale that measures pain from a scale of 0 to 10, a higher number refers stronger pain.

Choi Yoon-lak, an orthopedist who led the surgery for Lippert's left arm, said the envoy is unlikely to suffer disabilities.

"The direction of the knife was in line with that of the nerve and the sinew. Despite its depth, (the stab) did not leave physical impairments," he said, adding that sensory weakeness in the fingers is likely to improve over the next 12-month period.

Meanwhile, police on Saturday continued to question Kim's motive behind his attack on Lippert after taking him into custody the previous night.

Police quoted Kim as saying that he had received an invitation to the breakfast meeting on Feb. 17 and immediately decided to attend the event. But he only decided to take a knife with him on the morning of his attack, they said.

Police said they interrograted Kim for about three hours on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. The 55-year-old repeatedly said he had no accomplice, according to police. (Yonhap)