Buddhist Monk In Critical Condition After Setting Himself On Fire In Protest of Comfort Women Deal

UPDATE: The monk has died:

 A South Korean monk was pronounced dead on Monday, two days after he set himself on fire during a mass rally in central Seoul against the country’s impeached president, hospital officials said.

The monk identified by his surname Seo had been in serious condition since he poured inflammables on his body and burned himself at around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday during the weekly candlelight vigil joined by tens of thousands of people, according to the officials.

He, who sustained serious burns all over his body, was pronounced dead at around 7:40 p.m. Multiple organ dysfunction was cited as the main cause of death.

The police suspect the 64-year-old monk tried to commit suicide since he left what is seen as a suicide note in which he called for President Park Geun-hye to immediately step down.  [Yonhap]

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Via a reader tip comes news that Korean monk has set himself on fire in protest of the comfort women deal struck back in 2015 between Korea and Japan.  I would love to know what this guy’s mental state was at the time because I would have to think you would have to be a little but nuts to set yourself on fire:

A South Korean 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, officials said Sunday.

The 64-year-old monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and serious damage to vital organs. He’s unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, said an official from the Seoul National University Hospital, who didn’t want to be named citing office rules.

The man set himself ablaze late Saturday during a large rally in Seoul calling for the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye, police said. 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, police said.  [Associated Press]

You can read the rest at the link, but I think Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a fair point that this agreement should be implemented regardless of leadership changes as a matter of “creditability”.