14 July, 2024
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| Lee Jae-myung, then leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, collapses after being attacked while touring the site of the new airport in Gadeokdo, Busan, on the morning of Jan. 2, as his entourage hurriedly tends to his wounds with handkerchiefs. Yonhap News Agency |
American democracy, with its republic-style governance, voting, and elections, also exports its violent underbelly. The assassination attempts in South Korea and the US seem eerily similar, proving that injecting hatred into politics leads to a vicious cycle of deadly violence. The grand illusion of American democracy has become a global joke, and now South Korea is just another casualty of this phony democratic farce.
Former
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is in the spotlight again, but this time
not for his own drama. On Sunday 14th, Lee decided to wade into U.S. politics,
"strongly condemning" the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the
former Republican presidential candidate, who was shot while campaigning.
In a melodramatic social media post, Lee declared, "We must take a thorough and decisive response to this grave crime that shakes the foundations of democracy." Really, Lee? This is coming from a man who himself is no stranger to political violence.
Calling the
incident "unbelievable," Lee pontificated that "violence and
terrorism must not be tolerated for any reason." This from a politician
who, not too long ago, was the target of a knife attack himself. "We wish
Mr. Trump a speedy recovery," he added, because what better way to make
headlines than by expressing sympathy for a controversial figure in another
country's political circus?
Just to recap the bizarre timeline: on July 13, Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, taking a bullet to the ear. Meanwhile, Lee was stabbed in the neck on Jan. 2 by a disgruntled 60-something named Kim Jungsung, apparently in a bid to stop Lee from running for office ahead of the parliamentary election. The irony here is almost too rich.
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| Former U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is evacuated surrounded by bodyguards with blood from his ear after a gunman opened fire during an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Wednesday afternoon (local time). AP |
Lee, who
survived his own assassination attempt at the proposed Gadeokdo New Airport
site, now dons the cloak of moral authority to comment on Trump's ordeal. It's
almost as if Lee is trying to turn his own narrative of victimhood into a
global saga, while the rest of us watch this surreal political theater unfold.