Seoul: A South Korean hospital says a Buddhist monk is in critical condition after setting himself on fire to protest the country’s settlement with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves.
A hospital official says the 64-year-old monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and serious damage to his organs. He’s unconscious and unable to breathe on his own.
Police say the man set himself ablaze late Saturday during a rally in Seoul calling for the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye. In his notebook, the man called Park a “traitor” over her government’s 2015 agreement with Japan that sought to settle a long-standing row over South Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan’s World War II military.
Many South Koreans say Japan’s compensation is not enough.