Lee, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed on the left side of his neck by a man who lunged out of the crowd as he was walking with journalists on Tuesday morning. Emergency officials have said he is not in a critical condition, although his exact status is unknown.
Yonhap news agency report states that the 66-year-old man who attacked him said he had intended to kill Myung. The motive for the attack is unclear.
Myung, was addressing reporters at a news conference during a visit to a construction site in the port of Busan on Tuesday morning when the stabbing happened.
The attacker reportedly approached him to ask for an autograph, before suddenly lunging forward to stab him. The weapon was an 18cm (7in) knife which the attacker said he bought online, police said at a media briefing. The attacker was immediately overpowered and arrested.
Prosecutors plan to bring attempted murder charges against the man, Yonhap said.
Democratic Party spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung said the politician was being flown to Seoul National University in the capital after receiving emergency treatment at Pusan National University Hospital.
Medical staff at the latter hospital suspected damage to a jugular vein that carries blood from the head to the heart. “There is concern that there could be large haemorrhage or additional haemorrhage, according to medical staff,” Seung said.
The assailant, wearing a paper crown reading “I’m Lee Jae-myung”, initially approached the politician asking for an autograph.
Videos circulated on social media showed the suspect being chased and tackled by several people, apparently including plainclothes police officers.
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