Were no stab marks found on South Korean Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung from the attack he suffered on January 2, 2024? No, that's not true: A visible scar on Lee's neck has been captured by multiple news outlets.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @user9334738084581 on March 15, 2023. The caption (translated from Korean to English by Lead Stories staff) read:
Artificial bloodstains.
There are no stab marks at all.
(This photo is blurred out and hidden by major broadcasting stations)
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Mar 20 16:15:29 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories has previously verified false claims about the attack that have spread on social networks. On January 2, 2024, Lee was stabbed in the neck by a civilian (archived here) and was immediately taken to the hospital for surgery. According to AP News (archived here), Lee was released from the hospital eight days after the surgery. The police concluded during the investigation that the suspect had acted alone (archived here), with no evidence of conspiracy.
Although the weapon with which the suspect struck Lee with did not cause any fatal injuries (archived here), Lee has stated that the scar he sees when he looks at himself in the mirror is "terrible" (archived here), but hopes that the public will not "hate" the suspect.
Lee was also captured showing former President Moon Jae In the scar when Lee paid a courtesy visit to his private residence (archived here).
