Senior civic group official attempts suicide at National Assembly

A senior official of a local civic group, which is opposed to the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), attempted to disembowel himself in a conference room at the National Assembly Tuesday during a discussion of plans to ratify the revision.

Kim Pan-Tae, director-general of the National Movement to Oppose the Unfair SOFA Revision, stood up abruptly during the meeting and stabbed himself with a letter opener, shouting ``The National Assembly must not pass the ratification. We object to the unfair revision.``

Kim was taken to a nearby hospital after receiving medical treatment from National Assembly guards. The guards said Kim had a 20cm-long stab wound in his stomach but that the injury was not life-threatening.