The suspect sought to confirm the politician's identity before hitting her with the question, “Are you Representative Bae Hyun Jin?” According to Yonhap, citing Bai's office. Her office could not be immediately reached.
The attack comes about three weeks after the January 2 attack on Lee Jae-myung, a prominent South Korean political figure and opposition party leader. He narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election.
A 66-year-old man approached Lee during his visit to the southern port city of Busan while pretending to be a supporter, then stabbed him in the neck with a knife. Lee was released from the hospital about a week later, and the suspect is under police investigation.
Pai, 40, was elected to the National Assembly in 2020 after working as a TV news anchor. She is a member of the conservative People Power Party, a minority party in parliament and the party of the South Korean president.
South Korean politics have become increasingly divisive and bitter ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for April, in which the Democratic Party's majority is at stake.
Despite successive incidents this month, attacks on political figures are rare in South Korea, and previous attacks have attracted international attention.
In 2022, liberal lawmaker Song Young-gil was also hit in the head with a sharp object by an elderly man during an election rally in Seoul.
In March 2015, a man cut US Ambassador Mark Lippert in the face, arm and leg with a kitchen knife during a breakfast forum in Seoul. The man later stated that he was trying to disrupt military exercises between the United States and South Korea and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In 2006, a man carrying a knife stabbed opposition conservative party leader Park Geun-hye in the face while she was meeting with voters. Park was later elected president but was impeached in 2016 and sentenced to prison for corruption and abuse of power.
