A 55-year-old man reportedly consumed poison Friday in an apparent suicide attempt with a note urging the need to "stand up against" Japan's claim to Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, police said.
The man, only identified by his surname Choi, was rushed to a nearby hospital after he was found lying unconscious in front of the National Cemetery in southern Seoul around noon after reportedly consuming a bottle of weed killer to take his own life, according to police officials.
A suicide note was found in a notebook inside Choi's car that was parked in front of the cemetery, which reads, "The Japanese government, which had once colonized this country, is now trying to take away the Dokdo islets from us as well. We must not succumb to their claims but must stand up against them."
Choi had written several letters in the notebook containing similar contents that were addressed to the president of Korea and members of the National Assembly, and he was also found to have been carrying a flag with the slogan "Dokdo belongs to us (South Korea)," police said.
Family members said Choi was an ordinary citizen who has never joined any activist groups or taken part in such protests, but added that he began telling friends that he was "so angered by Japan" through text messages since last month.
The issue of Dokdo has once again been put under the spotlight in recent weeks after President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the islets on Aug. 10, triggering protests from Tokyo.
Japan had frequently laid claims to Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of water between the two countries, and has proposed to take the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but South Korea dismissed the proposal as being "not worth consideration." (Yonhap)
