SEOUL, Prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence Tuesday for the man who stabbed opposition leader Lee Jae-myung during his political appearance in the southeastern port city of Busan in January.

Posing as a supporter, the 67-year-old man, surnamed Kim, approached Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, and stabbed him in the neck with a knife during Lee’s trip to inspect a new airport site in the city in early January.

The attack left Lee hospitalized for eight days for surgery to repair a major vein in his neck and for his subsequent recovery.

During the final court hearing before the verdict, prosecutors requested the Busan District Court sentence Kim to 20 years in prison.

Source: Yonhap News Agency