A Seoul
court on Friday handed a 12-year prison sentence to a South Korean man
who slashed and seriously injured the U.S. ambassador during a March
forum.
Kim
Ki-jong was convicted of attempted murder, assaulting a foreign envoy
and obstruction, according to Seoul Central District Court spokesman
Joon Young Maeng.
Both
Kim and the prosecution have one week to determine whether to appeal,
Maeng said. Prosecutors had previously asked for a 15-year prison term.
Convicted: South Korean Kim Ki-jong is
carried on a stretcher off an ambulance as he arrives at a hospital in
Seoul in this March 2015 photo. He was handed a 12-year prison sentence
for slashing and seriously injuring the U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert
Hurt: Kim slashed Mark Lippert
(pictured with his hand on his face) during a breakfast forum in Seoul,
leaving deep gashes on the envoy's face and arm.
Care: Lippert was treated for five days at a Seoul hospital
Victim: Lippert is seen after the attack in this March 2015 file photograph
Kim
slashed Mark Lippert during a breakfast forum in Seoul, leaving deep
gashes on the envoy's face and arm. Lippert was treated for five days at
a Seoul hospital.
Kim
has described himself as an anti-U.S. activist. He told police that his
assault was meant to protest annual U.S.-South Korean military drills
but that he did not intend to kill the ambassador.
The
drills, which are meant as a deterrent against North Korean attack, are
a major source of friction on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang says they
are practice for a northward invasion to topple the dictatorship that
has ruled the country since its founding in 1948. U.S. and South Korean
officials say the drills are defensive in nature.
Police
said Kim attempted to kill Lippert because he knifed him more than
twice with a force that was enough to penetrate the ambassador's arm as
he tried to block the attack.
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