Jang Il, former chairman of the Seoul Nowon district committee of the People Power Party, was arrested by the police after staging self-immolation incidents for two consecutive days in protest of being excluded from the party nomination.
According to the police on the 3rd, around 2 p.m., Jang attempted to pour a flammable liquid, presumed to be an inflammable substance, on his body and set himself on fire in front of the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, but was stopped by the police.
The police arrested Jang on the spot on suspicion of attempted arson.
He is also expected to be booked on charges of obstructing official duties by using special means, based on the fact that he endangered the safety of on-site police officers by staging self-immolation incidents for two consecutive days.
The day before, Jang also poured a liquid presumed to be thinner in front of the party headquarters and set himself on fire.
The police immediately extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher, and it is reported that his injuries were not severe.
Jang said the previous day, "I believed that the People Power Party had been conducting clean nominations, but in the end, they held such a chaotic nomination," adding, "Seeing the Nowon Gap nomination, I came to the party headquarters thinking that there should be no more victims."
Jang had applied for the Nowon Gap nomination but was excluded from both the primary election list and the priority nomination list.
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