Man stabs himself in front of Seoul mayor

An elderly man stabbed himself while Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening of an exhibition in City Hall, Friday, municipal officials and witnesses said.

News reports said he suffered minor injuries. Police are investigating his motive.

Local news outlets reported the man, in his 70s, was angry about a redevelopment project going on in his neighborhood.

He reportedly approached Mayor Park with a weapon around 10 a.m. and stabbed himself in the abdomen, after shouting "Can you say you are a mayor?" and "I need to die," according to witnesses.

He was handed to police and rushed to a nearby hospital, according to officials.

Mayor Park was speaking at the opening of an exhibition on Frank W. Schofield, a veterinary scientist who contributed to Korea’s independence movement during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation.

Police said they are investigating the incident.

Yonhap Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon looks at a man on the floor who just stabbed himself with a blade, seen circled, during a mayoral speech at City Hall, Friday. News reports said he suffered minor injuries and his motive was to protest a redevelopment project...