03/06/2015, 00.00
KOREA - UNITED STATES
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Seoul seeks attempted murder charge against US ambassador’s attacker

The South Korean authorities want to prosecute the attacker with with attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction and violations of the law on national security. Kim Gi-jong’s visits to North Korea also being investigated: if connected to yesterday’s attack yesterday, he could be sentenced to death.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - South Korean police want to indict Kim Gi-jong on charges with attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction and violations of the national security laws.  Yesterday the man slashed Mark Lippert, the US ambassador to Seoul, to demand the unification of the peninsula. Hospitalized after the attack, the US diplomat received  80 stitches in his face. His condition is stable and he will be discharged early next week.

According to the judicial authorities, Kim was quoted immediately after his arrest claiming that he did not want to kill the ambassador, "but only protest the joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States", which are currently underway. The "war games" are held each year, and according to North Korea are "a threat to unity and a provocation that demands a response."

Police officer Yoon Myeong-seong, said that the authorities " are also investigating the visits made by Kim in North Korea between 2006 and 2007", a period in which the man crossed the border 6 times. If they were to reveal links between these visits and the attack, Kim could be sentenced to death.

The attack has sparked a wave of controversy even about the safety of diplomatic guests in Seoul. Under international law, in fact, the safety of foreign representatives falls to the host country: the ease with which Kim succeeded in carrying out the attack yesterday has led some South Korean newspapers to point the finger at the government which they deem "incapable" of managing situations of risk. Today the "Blue House" (the Presidential palace in Seoul) responded by announcing an increase in safety measures for embassies and their leaders.

 

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