2 South Korean police officers stabbed outside presidential compound

SEOUL — South Korean authorities on Tuesday (Oct 31) detained a man after two police officers were stabbed outside a compound housing the presidential office in the capital, Seoul, city police said.

One officer was stabbed in the stomach and the other in the left arm at 1.20pm (0420 GMT) after the officers tried to subdue a man in his 70s who was shouting in front of the compound, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The two officers were being treated in hospital, it said.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed the incident but did not give any details or comment on a suspected motive for the attack outside the compound where the ministry of defence is also located.

SBS News broadcast footage of a man being held down, with a knife nearby on the ground.

President Yoon Suk-yeol moved the presidential office to the location, in Seoul's Yongsan district, last year from the Blue House, which had served as the presidential residence since 1948.

Yoon's office did not immediately comment and it was not clear if the president was in his office at the time.

The area outside the compound is often the site of political demonstrations and protests.

This year, a man went on a stabbing spree in a commuter town near Seoul, wounding 14 people just days after a stabbing attack in Seoul.

Those stabbing attacks came as a shock to South Korea, which has long enjoyed a reputation for safety with a low murder rate and strict gun controls.

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