By Lee Ji-hye
The parents of the U.S. Ambassador to Korea say the man who attacked their son on Thursday wanted to kill him.
They made the allegation in an interview with The Cincinnati Enquirer, a regional daily paper in Ohio.
“Mark was of the mindset that this was a bona fide attempt on his life,” Jim Lippert, the father of ambassador Mark Lippert, was quoted as saying.
“He was going for the neck or the jugular.”
They told local media they had spoken to their son on the phone the day of the attack.
“There were also some lacerations on Mark’s upper-left extremities that were causing some loss of movement in his ring and little finger,” the father said.
Despite about 80 stitches, the U.S. envoy told his parents that there would not be any permanent impairment to his face.
Lippert’s parents said that they “were out getting pizza” when they received a call from Robyn Lippert, the ambassador’s wife.
“I could just see and tell by the tone of the dialogue that this was serious,” said the father.
“Robyn was on her way to the hospital after the attack, but said that Mark was OK and had just spoken to her on the phone.”
The parents headed home soon after the phone call, only to find television news crews reporting the attack.
The father said his son had told them that one of the reasons it had spread so quickly was because of heavy news coverage in South Korea.
“Our settling event was that phone call,” the father explained. “It’s like playing cards. You play the hand you’re dealt and you react to it.”