Leader of South Korea’s ruling party is attacked with hammer by 70-year-old YouTuber
By Rebecca Moon
Warning: This article contains video and descriptions of violence some readers may find disturbing.
Democratic Party (DP) leader Song Young-Gil was struck in the head with a hammer by a 70-year-old YouTuber during a street campaign in Seoul on Monday.
In a video that captured the incident, the attacker is seen in a black hat and traditional Korean outfit while holding a selfie stick and a hammer wrapped in a black plastic bag. He then slams the hammer into Song’s head multiple times before being quickly detained by Seodaemun police.
Song was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and received multiple stitches to his head.
The 70-year-old attacker was taken into custody and has been identified as a political YouTuber, based on a sign he wore around his neck, who had been following Song’s campaign trail for the past month.
The man’s YouTube channel includes content purportedly about the Democratic Party’s campaign events for South Korea’s upcoming presidential election and expressing support for presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. Several videos criticize Song, with one video titled, “Retire anti-nationalist Song Young-gil.”
The police are currently investigating the case and are charging the man with violation of the Public Official Election Act and assault.
The DP presidential campaign committee has condemned the attack as a “serious threat to democracy” and have wished Song a speedy recovery.
A spokesman for the PPP campaign committee, Lee Yang-soo, said in a statement:“We hope for the speedy recovery of Charmain Song Young-gil, above all, with serious concerns about the violence that took place just two days before the election. Violence is unacceptable for any reason.”
Featured Image via MBCNEWS
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