Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
DPK to take legal action against prime minister's office over stabbing attack
The man accused of a knife attack against main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung is led out of a police station in the southeastern city of Busan, Jan. 4, to attend a court hearing for his arrest warrant. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Rival parties lock horns over results of police investigation
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Sunday that it will take legal action against the prime minister's office, accusing it of attempting to scale back and distort a knife attack on the party leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung earlier this year.
Jeon Hyun-heui, who leads the party's task force dealing with the incident's aftermath, said during a media conference that the prime minister's office, soon after the attack on Jan. 2, sent text messages to reporters and many others, saying that Lee suffered only a slight injury on his neck.
The opposition party said those messages constituted "fake news," as vascular surgeon Min Seung-kee at Seoul National University Hospital, who performed emergency surgery on Lee, said the lawmaker sustained a 1.4 centimeter-wide knife wound on the left side of his neck and that about 60 percent of his internal jugular vein was cut.
Jeon said, "We need clarification on who authorized the sending of these messages, the reasons behind it, and the number of recipients. After reviewing the relevant laws, we plan to file a complaint against the prime minister's office."
She said somebody had swiftly cleaned the crime scene within an hour of the incident, asserting, "This clearly amounts to the crime of destruction of evidence."
The opposition party claimed that the prime minister's office, in collaboration with fire and police authorities, sought to downplay and distort the incident to mitigate its political repercussions leading up to the April 10 general elections.
The DPK has already traded barbs with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Friday over the results of a police investigation, after the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced two days ago that the incident was a premeditated crime committed solely by the 67-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim — with no accomplice — who was driven by political beliefs. He launched the attack to stop Lee from becoming president, the police said.
The DPK criticized the probe as hastily conducted, speculating that there may have been other accomplices who assisted the knife-wielding perpetrator. The PPP accused the opposition party of engaging in conspiracy theories.
"In summary, the police probe is a pile of cover-ups and speculations," said Rep. Jung Chung-rae, a four term DPK lawmaker, during the party Supreme Council meeting. "If you closely look at how the perpetrator stabbed Lee with the knife, he seems like someone who was highly trained. There should be a thorough background check into this."
The lawmaker demanded the police conduct a re-investigation to find out whether other individuals were involved in the attack.
In response, the PPP denounced the opposition lawmakers for producing fake news and conspiracy theories ahead of the general elections.
"There would have been no reason for the police to passively conduct the investigation," PPP floor leader Rep. Yun Jae-ok told reporters, saying that he doesn't see any issues with the probe results.
"I perceive it (DPK's claim) as nothing more than fueling political bickering," he added.
The law enforcement authorities decided to withhold the suspect's personal identity and political affiliation, in what opposition lawmakers interpreted as an attempt to downplay the incident.
Kim has been referred to the prosecution for further investigation on charges of attempted murder.