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Seoul is not considered to be a particularly high threat
post despite its proximity to the North Korean border. It's not clear how many
guards Lippert had, but they would have been fewer than the ambassadors in most
of the Mideast, the AP reported.
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The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea received 80 stitches in
his face after he was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant Thursday morning
in Seoul.
The attacker is an ultra-nationalist political activist who
claims he acted alone.
Ambassador Mark Lippert, 42, was listed in stable condition
Thursday after undergoing surgery at the Sinchon Severance Hospital in Seoul to
repair lacerations to his face and left hand. The hospital director Jung
Nam-shik said the ambassador needed stitches to close the deep gash to his
face.
Jung said the gash on Lippert's face was about 11
centimeters (4 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) deep, located from his
right cheekbone to jaw. He added that there was no major damage to Lippert's
facial nerves or salivary glands.
Doctors also treated his thumb and two fingers on left hand
that were cut during the attack. The Associated Press reported that surgery was
performed to repair tendon and nerve damage.
The attack happened about 7:40 a.m. local time Thursday
(2240 GMT Wednesday).
Lippert wrote on his Twitter account that he is doing well
and is in great spirits. He will likely remain under observation in the
hospital for three to four days.
U.S. President Barack Obama called Lippert to wish him a
speedy recovery, a White House official said.
The U.S. State Department "strongly condemns" the
attack, spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the AP on Thursday
that Lippert was "doing as good as can be expected" after he was
attacked in South Korea.
Kerry, who was in Saudi Arabia for meetings with Gulf state
officials, added that Lippert intended "to soldier on" despite the
attack.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said in a statement that he
was "heartsick ... about the senseless attack on Mark. ... He is as
devoted a public servant as they come, a great credit to both of our
countries." Lippert served as a former policy aide to Leahy.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the incident was
"not only a physical attack on the U.S. ambassador in South Korea but also
an attack on the Korea-U.S. alliance and we will not tolerate it."
South Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and
vowed a thorough investigation and strengthened protection of embassies.
The attack
Lippert was attacked by a Korean assailant with a
25-centimeter-long (10 inch) knife, described as a fruit knife, while attending
a forum on Korean reconciliation. The organization that hosted the event, the
Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, is a coalition of various
groups that support the peaceful unification of the two Koreas.
Lee Sang-heon, the group’s director, denied reports the
assailant, Kim Ki-jong, 55, was a representative from any of the member groups.
Lee said Kim was able to gain admittance by taking advantage
of a bureaucratic oversight, saying he was from an old group that no longer
exists but remains on the organization’s list.
Lee apologized for the breach of security but said they did
not think there was any cause for broader concern.
He said it was an annual event and there had been no such
incident like this in past, so they did not request extra police presence.
Michael Lammbrau of the Arirang Institute think-tank was at
the meeting and told Reuters, "The guy comes in. ... He yells something,
goes up to the ambassador and slashes him in the face.”
Lammbrau said Kim shouted about Korean independence while he
was being restrained. "It sounded like he was anti-American,
anti-imperialist, that kind of stuff," he said.
"The ambassador fought him from his seat. ... There was
a trail of blood behind him," Lammbrau told Reuters.
U.S. ambassadors have security details, but the size largely
depends on the threat level of the post, the AP reported.
Security detail
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