Korean man badly hurt after self-immolation at Japan protest

An 80-year-old South Korean man was in life-threatening condition on Thursday after setting himself on fire during an anti-Japan protest in Seoul, hospital officials said. The rally, attended by hundreds and held in front of the Japanese Embassy, was staged ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II on Saturday that freed the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule. Choi Hyeon-yeol, who remains unconscious, suffered third-degree burns on his face, neck, upper body and arms and has been relying on a breathing machine after his lungs deteriorated, said an official at Seoul’s Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, who didn’t want to be named. Doctors had planned to operate on Choi on Friday to remove dead skin from his body, but it’s now unclear whether they will be able to do so after Choi’s condition took a turn for the worse after experiencing a sudden drop in blood pressure overnight.

He is an old man and the injuries are serious, with more than 40 percent of his body covered in third-degree burns, so there’s no guarantee that he will survive.

A hospital official said of the man’s condition.

The rally continued after Choi was taken to the hospital. Since 1992, activists have organized weekly protests in front of the Japanese Embassy to demand justice for South Korean women who were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese military during the war, and the gatherings have been mostly peaceful. The turnout was particularly high on Wednesday as the countries approached the anniversary. Many South Koreans harbor deep resentment toward Japan over its colonial occupation.

Asia-Pacific