- News>
- World
South Korean farmer kills self in WTO protest
Cancun, Sept 11: A South Korean man has killed himself to protest against the World Trade Organisation`s (WTO) ministerial meet here, witnesses and a top WTO official said.
Cancun, Sept 11: A South Korean man has killed himself to protest against the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) ministerial meet here, witnesses and a top WTO official said.
"We all regret this sad incident," WTO director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi said yesterday after Lee Kyang Hae, 55, stabbed himself during a protest.
"This self-inflicted wound has resulted in his death, so we do regret it," he said, adding, "We do hope that this incident doesn't lead to other circumstances." A fellow-farmer said that Lee's act was meant to "demonstrate opposition to the WTO which is killing our farmers and destroying Korea's agriculture".
Lee stabbed himself on the sidelines of a protest by several thousand people, which ended in clashes between police and a few hundred demonstrators. Around a hundred South Korean protesters later staged a silent sit-down outside the hospital where Lee had been taken with a punctured lung.
They unfurled a blanket on which they had written: "WTO kills". Bureau Report
"This self-inflicted wound has resulted in his death, so we do regret it," he said, adding, "We do hope that this incident doesn't lead to other circumstances." A fellow-farmer said that Lee's act was meant to "demonstrate opposition to the WTO which is killing our farmers and destroying Korea's agriculture".
Lee stabbed himself on the sidelines of a protest by several thousand people, which ended in clashes between police and a few hundred demonstrators. Around a hundred South Korean protesters later staged a silent sit-down outside the hospital where Lee had been taken with a punctured lung.
They unfurled a blanket on which they had written: "WTO kills". Bureau Report