Leader of S.Korea's ruling party attacked ahead of presidential election

FILE PHOTO: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook cast their early vote for the upcoming March 9 presidential election, at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, March 4, 2022. Yonhap via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - The leader of South Korea's ruling party was hospitalised on Monday after being attacked while campaigning for this week's presidential election, a race already overshadowed by controversy and in which early voting has been marred by irregularities.

Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil was attacked in Seoul by a man wearing a traditional robe who approached him from behind and struck him on the head with a smaller hammer, a video uploaded to YouTube by a Democrat campaigner showed.