The attack on South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is truly dizzying. Not only the political world, but also Korean society could have been thrown into chaos. It should never happen again that a major politician, including the leader of the main opposition party, is stabbed and injured with a weapon.
This incident serves as evidence that even in Korean society, individuals who despise political parties and politicians are capable of carrying out terrorist acts. Additionally, it highlights the fact that political polarization in Korea is alarmingly high. According to a poll conducted last year, 67 percent of the population believes that “political conflicts in our society are making the community uneasy or dangerous.” Moreover, 44 percent of the conservative People Power Party supporters and 45 percent of the Democratic Party supporters admitted that they would not feel comfortable sharing a meal or drink with someone of different political views, indicating a deep division within the public.
Political polarization has given political parties an opportunity to vilify their opponents, and this trend is escalating ahead of the general elections scheduled for April. Given the current circumstances, any prominent politician from either side of the political spectrum could become a target. Therefore, it is imperative that the police take immediate action and implement measures similar to those taken during presidential elections.
In Japan, a smoke bomb targeted current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April last year, nine months after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in 2022. Unless the police take special measures, there’s no reason why something like this can’t happen in Korea. Especially now that weapons can be made over the internet.
Immediately after the attack on Lee, the police said, “The opposition leader was not subject to security because it was before the official start of campaigning for the April general election.” However, as the situation developed, the police instructed city and prefectural police departments across the country to form “dedicated protection teams for key personnel”. On the day of the incident, the 40 or so dispatched officers were only concerned with traffic and crowd control.
This must change. The protection of key political figures must be the priority of the police. This incident could have been prevented if there were just a few officers providing close protection for Lee. The police should take this opportunity to revise their security rules so that they can activate security teams for key politicians attending political events at any time at the discretion of the local police commissioner, even if an election is not imminent.
