On January 29, the South Korean prosecutor's office announced that the man who used a knife to attack the leader of the opposition Democratic Party - Mr. Lee Jae-myung - was charged with attempted murder and violating election laws.

According to Yonhap news agency, the 67-year-old attacker, surnamed Kim, was arrested at the scene after stabbing Lee Jae-myung in the neck while the Democratic Party leader was visiting the port city of Busan on January 2.

Kim claimed to have acted alone to prevent Lee Jae-myung from becoming president.

After completing a weeks-long investigation, the Busan City Prosecutors' Office announced the indictment of the attacker on two charges, accusing him of plotting to influence the general election scheduled for next April by committing crimes and using violence to undermine election freedom.

The indictment also charges a 75-year-old man, whose identity was not released, with assisting Kim in committing attempted murder and violating election laws.

The indictment stated that after investigating a total of 114 people related to the attacker Kim, the prosecution concluded that there were no additional accomplices or masterminds behind the criminal acts of this subject.

KHANH HUNG