South Korea opposition leader stabbed in the neck by ‘fan who asked for autograph before lunging at politician’

A SOUTH Korean opposition party leader was stabbed in the neck by a man pretending to be a supporter in front of horrified crowds.

Lee Jae-myung, 59, was surrounded by journalists at a construction site in the port city of Busan when the attacker - wearing a paper crown with a pro-Lee slogan - knifed him in the neck.

Chilling footage showed the moment the suspect stabbed Lee in the neck, with the force of the attack pushing the party leader into the crowd behind him.

He had been walking to his car and talking to reporters when the attacker asked for his autograph and lunged at him with a knife, a witness told broadcaster YTN.

Lee was seen collapsing to the ground as people rushed to aid him.

Photos showed Lee lying with his eyes closed and bleeding as people press a handkerchief against the wound on his neck.

He was bleeding but conscious as he was rushed to a local hospital before being airlifted to the capital Seoul for emergency surgery at Seoul National University Hospital.

Cops reportedly said Lee suffered a "one-centimetre laceration on his neck" and he "remains conscious".

Police were seen wrestling the 67-year-old suspect to the ground before he was arrested at the scene.

Kwon Chil-seung, an MP from Lee's Democratic Party, told reporters: "This is an act of terror against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should never occur under any circumstances."

The MP added that medical staff suspected Lee had suffered damage to a jugular vein.

Kwon said: "There is concern that there could be large haemorrhage or additional haemorrhage, according to medical staff."

The attacker has not stated his motive, according to police officials.

A Busan police official said the suspect was born in 1957 and used an 18-cm knife bought online.

He did not identify the suspect, but said officers are seeking charges of attempted murder.

Lee lost to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol in the tightest presidential race in South Korea's history last year.

Yoon expressed "deep concern over the safety of Lee Jae-myung upon hearing of the attack", his spokeswoman Kim Soo-kyung said.

He added: "This type of violence must never be tolerated under any circumstances."

Since his election defeat, Lee has been a harsh critic of Yoon's major policies - including launching a 24-day hunger strike in protest.

Lee is currently on trial for alleged bribery stemming from a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul.

He has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations "fiction" and a "political conspiracy".