Knife attack on South Korean Opposition leader

SEOUL - South Korea may lay an attempted murder charge against an attacker who slashed the face of the country's Opposition leader at a campaign rally.

Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye, seen as a likely candidate for the 2007 presidential election, was cut on the cheek with a box cutter while campaigning for the May 31 local elections.

Doctors said the 11cm-long cut barely missed an artery behind her jaw bone, slicing through the salivary gland and facial muscles.

Senior prosecutor Lee Seung-ku said that after talking to Park's doctors, he would seek to formally arrest Ji Choong-ho on charges of assault and possibly attempted murder.

- REUTERS