The leader of South Korea's opposition party, Lee Jae-moon, was stabbed in the neck while speaking to reporters in the port city of Busan, AFP reported.
The opposition figure was walking in a crowd of journalists after visiting the construction of a new airport when a man in front of him lunged and punched him in the neck, South Korean television showed footage.
Lee, 59, can be seen falling to the ground as people rush to help him, with one of the men pressing a towel to the opposition leader's neck.
He was "walking to his car while talking to reporters when the assailant asked for an autograph," a witness told local broadcaster YTN, adding that Lee was then hit with what "looked like a knife."
Emergency workers were seen carrying the opposition leader into an ambulance. He was later taken to hospital by helicopter.
When transported to Pusan National University Hospital, Lee was bleeding but conscious.
"This is a terrorist act against Lee and a serious threat to democracy that should not happen under any circumstances," said Kwon Chil-seung, a lawmaker from Lee's Democratic Party.
"As for Lee's condition, we await the assessment of the medical staff," he added, and called for a "thorough" police investigation into the attack.
According to South Korea's Chosun Ilbo news agency, police in Busan said that Lee suffered a "one-centimeter wound on his neck" and that he "remains conscious and the bleeding is minor."
Television footage showed police officers knocking the attacker to the ground. He is seen wearing a hat with Lee's name on it./BGNES
