U.S. Ambassador Attacked in South Korea
Reports say Mark Lippert was attacked by a man with a knife, but is in stable condition
U.S. ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was injured in an attack by a man with a knife early Thursday morning in Seoul. PHOTO:REUTERS
By ALASTAIR GALE AndJEYUP S. KWAAK-March 4, 2015
SEOUL—The U.S. ambassador to South Korea was injured in an attack on Thursday by a man wielding a knife and shouting anti-American statements, U.S. officials, local police and witnesses said.
Ambassador Mark Lippert, 42 years old, received treatment at a Seoul hospital for injuries to his face. An official at the U.S. embassy said Mr. Lippert was in “stable condition” and his injuries weren’t life threatening.
Police identified the suspect as Kim Ki-jong and said he had been quickly apprehended and was being questioned. They said he lunged at Mr. Lippert with a 25-centimeter (10-inch) knife at a lecture hall in downtown Seoul around 7:40 a.m.
Mr. Kim couldn’t be reached for comment and it wasn’t known if he had legal representation.
Footage shows Mr. Lippert clutching his face as he is ushered out of the building after the attack.
Television footage showed Mr. Lippert walking from the scene to a police car and holding his face with a cloth. Blood spatters marked his hand, face, neck and clothing. Footage later showed the ambassador arriving at the hospital and saying, “I’m OK.”
A spokeswoman for the State Department said embassy officials were coordinating with South Korean police on the investigation. Police said Mr. Kim was being questioned to determine the motive for the attack. Eyewitnesses told local media that Mr. Kim shouted that he opposed military drills being conducted in South Korea by local and U.S. forces. Mr. Kim, who wore a traditional Korean hanbok outfit, also called for Korean reunification.
The eyewitnesses said the attacker approached Mr. Lippert, who was seated, from behind and pushed him forward before cutting him. Mr. Lippert attempted to fend off the attack while still in his seat, they said. Initial reports had said the weapon was a razorblade.
Mr. Kim was arrested in 2010 for throwing pieces of concrete at Japan’s ambassador to South Korea and received a suspended jail term. His personal website shows his involvement in activism to oppose Japan’s claim to islets controlled by South Korea and known internationally as the Liancourt Rocks. Recent postings on his site also show his opposition to the military exercises being held by U.S. and South Korean forces.
The annual drills began earlier this week and are a source of tension with North Korea, which portrays them as preparations for an invasion. South Korea and the U.S. say the drills are necessary to ensure readiness in case of a North Korean attack.
Mr. Kim was escorted out of the police station where he was being questioned on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance around 11 a.m. after telling police he was sick. He repeatedly told gathered media, “I oppose war drills.” Local reports said Mr. Kim had previously tried to set himself on fire in a protest near the presidential Blue House in 2007.
Footage shows police and others holding a man to the ground after the attack on the ambassador.
Mr. Lippert took up his position as ambassador last year and regularly walks to work, engaging with people on the streets. Seoul is known as a safe city, with violent street crime extremely rare although two recent multiple shootings in regional cities have shaken South Koreans’ sense of security.
The ambassador was scheduled to give a speech titled “Peace and Unification on Korean Peninsula and the Direction for Development of South Korea-U.S. Relations” at the event hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, an organization that promotes inter-Korean ties.
In a statement, the organization apologized for the attack, calling it “an unpardonable act of terror.”
An organization official said Mr. Kim helped found the group in 1998 but wasn’t actively involved in its operation. the official said Mr. Kim wasn't invited to the event but he was able to attend because he “was a familiar face” who regularly attended reunification-related events.
Anti-American sentiment occasionally flares up in South Korea but is mostly limited to fringe groups on the extreme political left who blame the U.S. for the division of the peninsula. Some activists have held small demonstrations against the drills but opinion polls show strong public support for security ties with the U.S., which has around 28,500 troops in South Korea.
Police said they would increase security around U.S.-related facilities, local media reported.
