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An elevated road near Seoul Station showing banners put up by a man who attempted self-immolation

By Bang Jun-ho, staff reporter

A man in his fifties is in critical condition after setting himself on fire while calling for a special prosecutor to investigate National Intelligence Service (NIS) interference in last year’s presidential election and the resignation of the winner, current President Park Geun-hye.

According to police and firefighters, the 53-year-old man, identified by his surname Lee, set himself ablaze on an elevated road in front of Seoul Station at around 5:45 pm on Dec. 31. He was taken to Seoul National University Hospital with third degree burns over his body.

The man was transported to Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, which specializes in burn treatment, but was incapable of communicating as of the evening of Dec. 31. An emergency room physician said there was a “strong chance” Lee would die within the next 48 hours.

Police said that Lee, who was alone, appeared to have driven onto the roadway, exited his vehicle, doused himself with flammable fluid, and set himself alight. Prior to setting himself on fire, Lee had hung up two banners on the roadway reading “appoint an NIS special prosecutor” and “Park Geun-hye must resign.” Police are currently investigating the scene for details.

“I first went by there at around 5:30, and I saw a man in a dark colored jacket set a box down next to a silver van and take something out of it,” said a 52-year-old taxi driver surnamed Jeong who passed by the site of Lee’s self-immolation three times before the incident.

“When I came back by a bit later, there was a thick smell of something like paint thinner in the air,” Jeong added.

one calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigation interference by state institutions in the 2012 presidential election and another for President Park Geun-hye’s resignation. (captured from Twitter)

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