SEOUL: A South Korean man died on Friday after setting himself on fire in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, police said, amid ongoing trade and diplomatic disputes with Tokyo.
The man in his 70s started a fire inside his vehicle parked in front of the embassy building and died after being treated in hospital, authorities said. Some 20 disposable gas canisters were also found in this car, authorities said.
A local media report said the late man’s father-in-law was a victim of Japanese wartime forced labor. The incident comes as relations between Seoul and Tokyo feel the strain over the labor issue. Japan last month unveiled tough restrictions on exports crucial to South Korean tech titans like Samsung Electronics.
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