South Korean police said Wednesday they are moving to question U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert over last week’s knife attack on him by a South Korean nationalist.
Lippert, 42, was released from Seoul’s Severance Hospital on Tuesday after spending five days recovering from wounds on his face and wrist that required more than 80 stitches.
Authorities said they have asked the U.S. Embassy to allow them to interrogate Lippert. Embassy officials said they were “eager” to help but are waiting for a response from the U.S. government, according to authorities.
The questioning is intended more as a formality than a necessity, as officials already have obtained details from witnesses, they said.
Lippert was taken unawares by a knife-wielding man on Thursday morning when he was preparing for a speech at a performance arts hall in downtown Seoul.
The 55-year-old assailant, Kim Ki-jong, was arrested at the scene and has been detained on various charges, including attempted murder. Kim said he wanted to alert the U.S. to the “damage” it was causing to inter-Korean reconciliation.
South Korea remains technically at war with rival North Korea after the Korean War in the 1950s ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The U.S. stations more than 28,000 troops here to deter provocations from the North, but hardcore nationalists argue that their presence hurts more than helps the mood for Korean unification.
A special law enforcement task force has been assembled since the attack to uncover whether Kim had ties to North Korea. The team comprised of more than 100 law enforcement officials is also interested in his motive.
Kim was recovering from a broken ankle at a hospital in southern Seoul, but will continue to be questioned about his motive by the authorities.
Police intend to refer his case to prosecutors by Friday.
They are also continuing their probe into allegations that Kim violated a controversial security law here that bans South Koreans from openly praising North Korea.
More than a dozen books have been found in Kim’s home that were dangerously pro-North Korea” in nature, they said. (Yonhap)
