Man sets himself on fire over feud with international marriage agency

JEJU, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- A 60-something man is in serious condition after setting himself on fire out of anger over a feud with an international marriage agency that refused to arrange a marriage for him, officials said Monday.

The 64-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, set himself ablaze at the office of the marriage agency on the southern island of Jeju at around 12:56 p.m. a day earlier, according to police and firefighting authorities on the island.

During talks with the head of the agency, the man suddenly poured a bottle of gasoline over himself and set fire with a lighter.

The agency chief threw water on him and put out the fire, but the man sustained first- to third-degree burns and remains unconscious at a hospital.

According to an initial police probe, the man was upset about the agency's refusal to arrange an international marriage for him on grounds that he is legally unqualified.

Under immigration rules, a South Korean national cannot qualify for a new marriage visa a foreign spouse for five years after the previous invitation of a foreigner to the country for marital purposes.

Police officials said under the rules, the man was ineligible since his previous international marriage was in 2017, adding a further probe will be conducted as soon as he regains consciousness.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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