Song Young-gil: South Korea’s ruling party chief attacked while campaigning for presidential election

Song has received multiple stitches and will remain in hospital overnight

South Korea’s ruling party chief Song Young-gil was taken to a hospital on Monday after he was attacked while campaigning for the presidential elections.

The Democratic Party leader was campaigning in Seoul ahead of this week’s voting, when a man wearing a traditional robe approached him from behind and struck him on the head several times with a hammer wrapped in a plastic bag, a video of the incident showed, according to Reuters.

Party officials said Mr Song is in a stable condition and the suspect has been arrested.

The assailant was identified as a YouTuber in his 70s, said Lee Jin-woo, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Park Min-soo, a Democratic Party official, said Mr Song received four to five stitches and will remain in the Severance Hospital overnight. Hospital authorities, however, declined to share details citing privacy issues.

The political contest for the country’s top post fought between Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol has been marred with scandal, smear tactics, gaffes, as well as reports of voting irregularities.

Condemning the attack, president Moon Jae-in called it a “terror against democracy”, his spokesman said in a statement.

The party’s presidential candidate, Mr Lee, said “violence harms democracy, it can never be accepted”, while his opponent Mr Yoon wished Mr Song a quick recovery.

“Any action of violence that disrupts an election cannot be justified,” Mr Yoon said.

Additional reporting by agencies