SEOUL, South Korea — U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert was attacked by a man wielding a razor and screaming that the rival Koreas should be unified, South Korean and U.S. officials said Thursday.
Media images showed a stunned-looking Lippert examining his blood-covered left hand and holding his right hand over a cut on the right side of his face, his pink tie splattered with blood.
The U.S. State Department condemned the attack, which happened at a performing arts center in downtown Seoul as the ambassador was preparing for a lecture about prospects for peace on the divided Korean Peninsula, and said Lippert’s injuries weren’t life-threatening. The U.S. stations 28,500 service members in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, and some South Koreans see the U.S. presence as a barrier toward a unified Korea.
The U.S. Embassy said Lippert was in stable condition after surgery at a Seoul hospital. Photos showed a gash on Lippert’s face, starting under his right cheekbone and extending diagonally across his cheek toward his jawbone.
