Ex-football star attacked during election campaign for PPP candidate

Police opened an investigation Friday after an unidentified person kneed retired football star Lee Chun-soo when he was campaigning for former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) ahead of next month's general elections. The attack happened Thursday morning when the football star was offering greetings to passersby at Gyeyang Station in the western city of Incheon as part of Won's election campaign, the candidate said in a Facebook post. The assailant approached Lee while offering a handshake, then grabbed Lee's hands and struck Lee in the thigh with his knee. Bystanders tried to intervene, but the man fought back and attempted to further harm Lee, Won said. Lee, one of the stars in South Korea's 2002 World Cup semifinal squad, has been helping with Won's campaign since taking over as chair of his sponsorship association last month. Police are tracking down the assailant after securing CCTV footage of the attack. "This is a downright crime. It is unacceptable," Won wrote. " We will devise every measure to prevent such an incident from happening again." According to Won's post, another man carrying an electric drill reportedly threatened Lee the same afternoon, claiming to know where Lee's family lived. Police, however, said it did not receive such a report. Won is running in Incheon's Gyeyang-B district against Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. Source: Yonhap News Agency