Ruling party leader in hospital after attack at rally
Song Young-gil stable amid election race hit by scandals, smear tactics and gaffes
The chief of South Korea’s ruling party was admitted to hospital yesterday after being hit on the head by a stranger while campaigning for this week’s presidential election.
A tight race between Lee Jaemyung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party was reflected in a record turnout of nearly 37 per cent in two days of absentee voting that ended on Saturday.
The attack on Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party and Lee’s election campaign, was yet another twist in a race overshadowed by scandals, smear tactics and gaffes.
Song was struck on the head with a small hammer-like tool, wielded by a man wearing a traditional robe who approached him from behind, a video uploaded to YouTube by a Democratic campaigner showed.
The images could not be independently verified, but party officials said Song was in stable condition and the man, subdued by officials, was handed to police.
“Violence harms democracy, it can never be accepted,” the party’s presidential candidate, Lee, told another rally in the southeastern port city of Busan, and wished Song a rapid recovery.
The incident came as poll officials scrambled to revamp plans after early voting procedures were blighted by long waits outside poll stations for coronavirus sufferers, while other voters received ballots that had been already marked.
As daily Covid-19 infections hover near unprecedented levels above 200,000 and more than 1 million receive treatment at home, parliament passed a legislative amendment to ease in-person voting by such patients.
But chaos erupted at many polling places during Saturday’s special early voting for infected voters, spurring repeated apologies from the National Election Commission (NEC) for failing to ensure an orderly process.
“All the problems resulted from our failure at thorough preparations, and we are fully responsible for falling short,” it said in a statement.
There was no sign of foul play, it added, but officials held a meeting yesterday to tighten procedures before the wider vote.
President Moon Jae-in expressed regret on Sunday, asking the NEC to explain the errors and guarantee all people’s right to vote, his spokeswoman said.
Instead of letting voters directly cast ballots, some election workers collected and carried them in a shopping bag or wooden bucket to place in ballot boxes, the NEC said.
Some voters received ballot papers that had already been used, while others had to wait in long queues in the cold.
Opposition candidate Yoon’s campaign criticised the NEC, saying, “An elementary classroom election could not be sloppier”, and urged its chairwoman, Noh Jeong-hee, to step down.
Lee’s party dismissed the resignation demand but urged steps to avert more confusion.
All the problems resulted from our failure at thorough preparations, and we are falling short
NATIONAL ELECTION COMMISSION