Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

By Ece Goksedef

BBC News

A man suspected of stabbing South Korea's opposition leader on Tuesday has been formally arrested on charges of attempted murder.

The man in his 60s, surnamed Kim, was caught and taken into police custody immediately after the attack.

The politician Lee Jae-myung is out of intensive care, meanwhile.

Lee was stabbed in the neck with a camping knife in the southern port city of Busan. The assailant allegedly posed as an autograph-seeker.

One of the doctors who operated on Lee told reporters that the victim was "smoothly recovering following surgery" that repaired a major vein in his neck.

"He requires continued observation due to concerns over additional infection and post-surgery complications due to the injury he suffered," Professor Min Seung-kee said.

The motive for the attack is still not known, although Kim told reporters before attending a court hearing that he had submitted to police an eight-page note explaining his reasons.

He also said to the police that he intended to kill Lee, according to the Yonhap news agency.