Man who attacked Lee Jae-myung sentenced to 15 years in prison in South Korea

The man who stabbed Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the South Korean opposition Democratic Party, in the neck with a deadly weapon in Busan in January this year was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial.
On the 5th, the Busan District Court sentenced a defendant named Kim (67) on charges of attempted murder and violating the Public Offices Election Act to 15 years in prison.
The prosecution demanded a sentence of 20 years in prison. Kim is accused of stabbing Lee in the neck with a deadly weapon at around 10:29 a.m. on January 2 at Daehan Observatory in Busan, and attempting to kill him.
Lee was also tried on charges of obstruction. He suffered injuries including a 9mm tear in his internal jugular vein as a result of Kim's attack, and was discharged from the hospital after eight days of surgery and hospitalization.
The prosecution's investigation revealed that Kim committed the crimes in a planned manner over a long period of time. At the closing hearing on the 5th, the prosecution stated, "It was a thoroughly planned crime and the nature of the crime is extremely serious.
"If the blade had been even slightly different in direction, the victim could have died," he said. "This is an unprecedented attempt to obstruct the exercise of the nomination right and the running of the leader of the main opposition party ahead of the election.
"It is a crime, and the possibility of criticism is overwhelmingly higher than that of traditional political terrorism," he said, explaining the reason for the sentence. In his closing argument, Kim said, "I'm sorry to Lee, the former president, and I hope he will be more patient and take legal measures to protect the people."
"I have now come to the fundamental realization that we should have joined forces and taken a more proactive stance. I am truly sorry, and I apologize for squandering the administrative power of state agencies."