South Korean President Park Geun-Hye visited U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert while he was recovering from a recent knife attack.
Park Geun-Hye, the president of South Korea, paid a visit to Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, as he is recovering from a recent knife attack at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital.
"I was extremely surprised during my trip to the Middle East to hear that you were attacked,” she told him. “As I experienced a similar attack in 2006, my heart ached for your suffering."
Lippert was attacked at a forum that took place in Seoul by a man named Kim Ki-Jong, who slashed Lippert on the face and wrist. Reports say that Lippert will need to receive 80 stitches on his face.
Similar to Ambassador Lippert, Park also experienced a knife attack to her face in 2006.
Park experienced a similar attack in 2006, when a man also knifed her on the face.
Soon after the attack on Lippert, Park was quick to denounce the incident from the United Arab Emirates, one of the four nations she visited during her recent trip in the Middle East.
"It is shocking and unacceptable that a U.S. ambassador fell victim to an act of terror in broad daylight in our country—one that loves free democracy and peace,” she said.
“Because this person has committed such similar actions on multiple occasions, we must investigate exactly what his purposes are behind these incidents, and whether he carried out these crimes on his own or if he has accomplices,” she continued. “We must not allow such incidents to happen again.”
Reports say that Kim attacked a Japanese ambassador to South Korea in 2010, throwing “a piece of concrete” at the ambassador, according to Yonhap news.
"The extreme perspectives and actions of the perpetrator of the recent crime is contrary to the majority of the Korean people who want to protect free democracy,” Park said. “I expect the organization who hosted the event to reveal how this person was able to attend, and I call on the government to put in greater efforts toward securing the safety of our ambassadors.”
