South Korea's Police on March 18 sent bodyguards to protect opposition leader Lee Jae-myung amid threats to assassinate him. The police protection began March 18 for an undetermined period of time after Lee's Democratic Party (DP) requested it, citing concerning text messages received by several of its lawmakers. The messages reportedly warned against a plot to assassinate Lee with a smuggled Russian-made pistol. Police did not disclose the number of bodyguards assigned to Lee or other specifics of the security detail.