Mark Lippert, the US ambassador to South Korea was slashed on the face and wrist at the performing arts centre at Seoul when he was preparing for a lecture to talk about peace with the country on March 5, 2015. Lippert was attacked by a man with a 10 inch knife.
Media images showed a shocked US ambassador looking at the blood flowing from his left hand while he held his right hand on his face. The attack has been criticised by the US State Department and added that the injuries to Lippert were life threatening. The US embassy informed that the official was in a stable condition after he underwent a surgery at an hospital at Seoul.
The attacker has been identified as a 55 year old Kim Ki Jong and screamed during the attack “South and North Korea should be reunified.” The head of Korean Federation for Teachers, Ahn Yang-ko witnessed the incident and said that the US Ambassador had just seated for breakfast before the lecture. A man from a nearby table ran towards the Lippert, who stood up for a handshake but the accused pinned him down to the ground and slashed with a knife.
The attacker was immediately detained after which he shouted anti-war slogans. One of the police officials on the condition of anonymity said that the attacker in 2010 threw a piece of concrete at a Japanese Ambassador in Seoul after which he was detained and sentenced for three years of suspended prison term.
Photo Credits: aljazeera
