Ambassador Mark Lippert tweets, “doing well & in great spirits …”

March 5, 2015 By in Ambassadors, Diplomatic Attacks, Diplomatic Security, Realities of the FS, Security, Social Media, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , 2 Comments

Posted: 11:04 EST
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More details from Reuters and Voice of America below:

  • Ambassador Lippert was attacked and  slashed in the face by a Korean nationalist at about 7:40 a.m. local time Thursday (2240 GMT Wednesday) at a forum hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation in Seoul.  The attack took place in a government arts centre across the street from the heavily guarded US embassy.
  • He was treated at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital where he underwent a two and a half hour surgery that required 80 stitches.
  • A small fruit knife  was used in the attack.
  • The attack resulted on a gash on the ambassador’s face measuring 11 centimeters (4 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) deep, located from his right cheekbone to jaw on the right side of his face and a puncture wound on his left wrist, causing nerve damage that was repaired.  There was reportedly no major damage to his facial nerves or salivary glands. Reports say he will be hospitalised for three or four days.
  • The forum organizer denied that the alleged assailant was a member. “Kim was able to gain admittance by taking advantage of a bureaucratic oversight, saying he was from an old group that no longer exists but remains on the organization’s list.  He said it was an annual event and there had been no such incident like this in past, so they did not request extra police presence.” The assailant who was caught and identified also tried to attacked the Japanese ambassador to South Korea in 2010 by throwing a piece of concrete. He was reportedly given a suspended jail term for that incident.

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Related post:

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert injured in attack by armed assailant (updated)

2 responses

  1. Any word on the whereabouts of his security detail and their reaction? Also, I don’t recall any examples of non-career ambassadors being physically attacked. What about the South Koreans? They must be writhing in dismay over this stain on their honor.

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