South Korean police investigating 14-year-old boy as suspect of attack on lawmaker

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Police say an assailant who repeatedly struck a South Korean lawmaker with a rock was a 14-year-old boy who was sent to a mental health facility Friday. The attack Thursday on ruling party member Bae Hyunjin came just weeks after a man stabbed opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck. It raised further concerns about the country’s intensely polarized politics. Doctors said Bae avoided serious injury. Police are continuing to investigate the boy. South Korean law allows for emergency hospital admissions for up to three days if there’s concern a person could harm themselves or someone else. The opposition leader who was attacked earlier this month said his scar was “aching again” after Bae was hurt.