South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck expected to recover, doctor says
Lee Jae-myung's assailant is in police custody as authorities raid his home and office
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is recovering well following his attempted assassination this week, according to medical professionals.
Doctor Min Seung-kee said Thursday that Lee is "recovering smoothly" at Seoul National University Hospital.
Medical teams will continue to monitor the political leader's condition for complications as his recovery continues.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SOUTH KOREA OPPOSITION LEADER STABBED IN NECK DURING VISIT TO BUSAN
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is carried by rescue team in Busan, South Korea. (Ha Kyung-min/Newsis via AP)
Lee, the chief of the main opposition Democratic Party, was brutally attacked while visiting the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday.
The suspected attacker appeared to be a man in his 50s or 60s who wore a paper crown with Lee's name printed on it, news photographs showed. He approached Lee asking for an autograph among a crowd of supporters before he lunged forward and attacked, video footage showed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The assailant was quickly subdued and arrested at the scene. His motive remains unknown.
SOUTH KOREAN POLICE RAID HOUSE OF SUSPECT WHO STABBED OPPOSITION LEADER LEE JAE-MYUNG
South Korean police arrive to seize materials at the office of the man who stabbed opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, in Asan, South Korea. South Korean police on Wednesday raided the residence and office of a man who stabbed the country’s opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, in the neck in an attack that left him hospitalized in an intensive care unit, officials said. (Lee Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)
South Korean police raided the attacker's home and office on Wednesday in the city of Asan. Authorities also intend to search the assailant's phone.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attack left a gash in Lee's neck that is about 1 centimeter long, according to YTN television.
Min told the press that the knife cut Lee's jugular vein, requiring stitches to close the bleeding wound.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, delivers a speech during a memorial event of the first anniversary of Itaewon Halloween crowd crush disaster in Seoul, South Korea. (Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A neighbor living near the unidentified suspect told The Associated Press that the man was a quiet person who did not often talk about politics.
He also said the suspect works as a real estate agent but fell behind on paying his rent.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.