Leader of South Korea's ruling party attacked ahead of presidential election
Source: Reuters
SEOUL, March 7 (Reuters) - The leader of South Korea's ruling party was hospitalised on Monday after being attacked while campaigning for this week's presidential election, a race already overshadowed by controversy and in which early voting has been marred by irregularities.
Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil was attacked in Seoul by a man wearing a traditional robe who approached him from behind and struck him on the head with a smaller hammer, a video uploaded to YouTube by a Democrat campaigner showed.
Reuters could not independently verify the images, but party officials said Song was in a stable condition and a suspect was in police custody.
In a contest characterised by scandals, smear tactics and gaffes, the Democrats' Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party are running neck-and-neck.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorea-scrambles-rework-covid-19-poll-plans-after-early-voting-lapses-2022-03-07/