Korean man still in critical condition after self-immolation at Japan protest

[yuiyoshida]

SEOUL, South Korea —

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 on Wednesday, 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, citing office rules.

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.

- See more at: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/korean-man-still-in-critical-condition-after-self-immolation-at-japan-protest#sthash.MdkHvIBK.dpuf

[davidpdx]

1. I know there is such hatred among some Koreans for Japan

but this stuff is just crazy.