Roh supporter torches himself as impeachment drive blocked

A supporter of President Roh Moo-Hyun set himself on fire outside the National Assembly here Thursday as a political crisis deepened over a drive to impeach the South Korea leader.
Earlier lawmakers loyal to Roh staged a show of force in parliament to successfully thwart the impeachment motion after two main opposition parties said they had enough support to oust Roh.
A man was in intensive care after setting himself on fire during a rally by some 200 Roh supporters outside the parliament complex where opposition lawmakers were seeking to impeach Roh. "He is critical with serious burns," an official at Hangang Scared Hospital said.
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) said earlier they had secured the required two-thirds majority, or 181 votes, in the 271-seat National Assembly to impeach the president a month ahead of general elections.
"The fate of President Roh has been sealed," GNP Floor Leader Hong Sa-Duk said.
But more than 40 members of the Uri Party, loyal to Roh, who branded the impeachment drive a coup d'etat, held up the session for four hours by surrounding the assembly podium and occupying the speaker's chair.
Speaker Park Kwan-Yong suspended the session and said it would resume on Friday at 10:00 am (0100 GMT). A vote must take place before 6:30 pm Friday or the motion will be null and void.
"The session will resume tomorrow," Park said. "I will never tolerate this behaviour tomorrow."
Unrepentent Uri Party members said they would continue their sit-in which began when the motion was introduced on Tuesday. Park has threatened to have police physically evict them. The opposition lawmakers who control parliament vowed to oust Roh for violating his electoral neutrality after he called for a big turnout in favour of the pro-government Uri Party at April 15 general elections here.
The move has triggered turmoil as the country grapples with an economic downturn and the North Koran nuclear stand-off.
Roh was reprimanded last week by the National Election Commission for trying to influence the outcome of the elections in favour of the Uri Party. But it took no further action, judging the violation to be minor.