A 15-year-old attacker struck Bae Hyun-jin, a lawmaker and member of the governing People’s Power Party (PPP), in the head with a blunt object on Jan. 25. 

According to surveillance footage, the suspect approached Bae and asked, “Are you lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin?” before hitting her repeatedly with a rock. Bae was taken to a hospital without serious injury while the suspect was arrested.

“It seems to be politically motivated,” Emma Kim (12), avid news reader, said. “It is interesting that the suspect seems so young and still went through with the attack.”

Bae, a former television newscaster, was elected in 2020 into the National Assembly. Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the PPP, issued a statement, calling the attack on Bae an “unacceptable incident that must be sternly investigated.”

The attack drew more attention due to a similar incident where Lee Jae-myung, the opposition party’s leader, was stabbed in the neck earlier this month. Before these two occurrences, attacks on political figures in South Korea were considered rare. 

“There needs to be a thorough and decisive response,” Lee said about Bae’s attack, claiming the incident was “political terrorism.” 

The motive of the attack was not revealed by police. However, an official in the PPP revealed that the suspect allegedly claimed the attack was a result of Bae’s political choices, and that the suspect’s father believed that he tried to replicate what happened with Lee. 

“We have always had extreme political beliefs, but we have not always necessarily had violence,” Steve Nave, Asian Studies teacher, said. “[This trend] seemed to have also started in the US a few years ago, so it is becoming more of a worldwide phenomenon. We need to make sure that it is not considered acceptable to attack politicians because you disagree with their beliefs.”