Opposition politician Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck in a near-fatal attack on January 2 in southern Busan city.

“The suspect decided to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president,” Busan police chief Woo Cheol-mun told reporters on Wednesday.

Woo said the suspect said he was unsatisfied with what he believes were authorities’ failures to punish Lee over corruption allegations.

On January 2, the 59-year-old leader was brutally attacked in southern Busan city.

The assailant, posing as a supporter, pushed through a crowd to reach him and stabbed him in the neck, causing a near-fatal injury to his jugular vein.

Following extensive emergency surgery, Lee recovered and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Woo said the suspect left an eight-page note, adding that he bought an outdoor knife last April and followed Lee on five events since June.

“It’s analysed that the suspect’s subjective political belief led to the extreme crime,” Woo said, noting that police had not found other accomplices. During police questioning, the suspect had no defence lawyer, according to Busan police.

‘End politics of hate’

Police handed over the suspect to prosecutors, who will determine whether to indict him and send him to a trial. If he is indicted but still has no lawyer, a court will appoint one.

A Busan court earlier approved an arrest warrant for him on alleged attempted murder.

“I feel sorry because I caused concerns to the people,” the suspect said in brief comments to reporters at the Busan prosecutors’ office. Asked by a reporter whether he plotted the attack alone, he said, “Yes. How could I plan this with someone else?”

Police declined from identifying him by name and only said that he is about 67.

After his discharge from hospital on Wednesday, Lee said he hoped his stabbing would mark the end of the “politics of hate”.

“I hope this case, which shocked everyone, can serve as a milestone to end the politics of hate and confrontation and restore proper politics,” Lee told reporters and supporters.

South Korean politics have become increasingly polarised and heated recently ahead of a general election in April, with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative People Power Party and Lee’s Democratic Party neck and neck in the polls.