by A South Korean lawmaker was attacked in the head with a blunt object in Seoul on Thursday and taken to a hospital where she was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to her staff and doctors.
Bae Hyunjin of the ruling People Power Party is the second South Korean politician to be physically attacked in public in less than a month.
Yang Jaeyu, her chief of staff, said the attacker approached her and asked, “Are you People Power Party legislator Bae Hyunjin?” twice before hitting her with what he called a “rock-like object.”
Security camera footage shared by her office showed the attacker walking through a door very close to her before repeatedly punching the lawmaker as she fell back to the ground and tried to resist the attack.
She was being treated at Seoul’s Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Han Dong-hoon, her party leader, told reporters Thursday night.
“This is something that should never have happened,” he said, “and the truth must come out and the culprit must be brought to justice.”
Ms. Bae, 40, a former anchor for South Korean broadcaster MBC, is in her first term as a lawmaker. She was elected in 2020. She briefly served as spokesperson for then-president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol after his election in 2022.
Doctors at the hospital where she was being treated told reporters that she was conscious when she arrived at the emergency room and that she had suffered a laceration of approximately one centimeter on her head, without bleeding or major fractures.
The attacker was detained at the scene and is being investigated by police, according to Yonhap, a South Korean news agency. The chief detective at the Gangnam District Police Station, where the attack occurred, could not immediately be reached.
On January 2, a man stabbed Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, in the neck as the politician pushed his way through a crowd. Mr. Lee was taken to the hospital and released about eight days later. The suspect, who said he was politically motivated, was arrested and was expected to be charged with attempted murder.
In a statement on social media, Lee called Thursday’s episode “unbelievable” and said, “No type of political terrorism is acceptable.”
Park Jung-ha, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement: “In these turbulent times of extreme politics and hate politics, we are deeply concerned about yet another act of political violence and terrorism.”
The attacks, coming just weeks apart against politicians on both sides of the political spectrum, could be an indication of the growing divisions and rancor that have colored South Korean politics.
Physical attacks on politicians have been rare in South Korea. The most high-profile incident was a 2006 attack on then-opposition leader Park Geun-hye, a conservative politician who later won the presidency. A man who was a fervent critic cut her in the face.
Choe Sang-Hun contributed reports.
