South Korea | Knifed US ambassador released from hospital

South Koreans hold pictures of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert during a rally denouncing the attack on the ambassador, in downtown Seoul

U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert vowed yesterday not to change his “open and friendly” approach to diplomacy, as he left a South Korean hospital after five days of treatment following a knife attack by a man screaming about Korean unification.
Lippert told reporters assembled at Seoul’s Severance Hospital that he felt “pretty darn good, all things considered” after the “scary incident” on Thursday, when police say an anti-U.S. activist slashed his face and left arm during a breakfast forum in Seoul.
Lippert, his face bandaged and his arm in a brace, would not comment on the specifics of the attack because of the police investigation. He refused to discuss possible new security measures, except to say U.S. officials would take “a hard look” at procedures in South Korea and then make a decision.
He said that since arriving in Seoul this past fall, he and his staff “have felt embraced and welcomed by the Korean people.”
“In return, we have made it our mission to be open and friendly. And that will not change,” he said.
Lippert, who has endeared himself to many South Koreans by regularly walking his basset hound around his compound in downtown Seoul and giving his newborn son a Korean middle name, said he was deeply moved by messages of support. He said the attack would only strengthen an “unbreakable bond” between Seoul and Washington as the allies work to deepen military, economic and cultural ties.
Media images of the bleeding ambassador shocked many in South Korea, a strong U.S. ally since the Korean Peninsula was split into a pro-American South and pro-Soviet North at the end of World War II, and caused an outpouring of public sympathy. President Park Geun-hye and other senior officials visited Lippert in the hospital, while activists held a series of pro-U.S. rallies near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
Hundreds of activists rallied again in Seoul yesterday, waving U.S. and South Korean flags and holding signs with congratulatory messages for Lippert on his hospital release. They also called for the strengthening of South Korean-U.S. ties.
Doctors removed the 80 stitches needed to close the cut on Lippert’s face, Severance’s general director, Yoon Do-heum, told reporters. He said the ambassador was still feeling some pain in his arm, but that it was manageable with medicine. He said Lippert may experience sensory problems in his left hand for several months. Hyung-Jin Kim, Seoul , AP