Cảnh sát cho biết kẻ tấn công bằng dao hy vọng chấm dứt nỗ lực tranh cử tổng thống của Hàn Quốc

----

The man who stabbed (đâm) the main opposition leader of South Korea in the neck last week wanted to kill him so that he would never become president, the police said, in an alarming escalation of the country’s political polarization (phân cực chính trị).

A 66-year-old man who was arrested after the attack was handed over to prosecutors on Wednesday to be formally indicted on a charge of attempted murder. The South Korean police did not release his name, but he was identified by local news media by his surname, Kim.

The suspect told investigators (nhà điều tra) that he was unhappy with what he saw as slow progress in trying (tiến độ chậm trong việc cố gắng) Mr. Lee, who faces corruption (tham nhũng)  and other charges. Mr. Lee has denied those charges and has accused Mr. Yoon’s government of using the investigations as political revenge. ​

The man insisted that he had acted alone (hành động một mình), and the police said they could find no others involved in the attack. But they questioned a man in his 70s who they said was briefed by the suspect​ about his plan and ​entrusted (giao phó) with seven sealed envelopes that contained his manifesto​ (tuyên ngôn) and were addressed to relatives ​and news outlets. The suspect asked the man to post his manifesto only to his relatives if he failed to kill Mr. Lee, the police said. The mail was intercepted by the police before it reached the relatives.

The police did not disclose the suspect’s ​political affiliation (quan hệ chính trị của nghi phạm), citing privacy regulations, but said he liked to watch conservative YouTube channels. South Korean news media said the suspect was a member of Mr. Yoon’s conservative People Power Party before he shifted his membership to Mr. Lee’s Democratic Party last year in an apparent attempt to gain better access to ​his political schedules.

source: nytimes,