A South Korean man in his late 70s died Friday after setting fire to his own car near the Japanese embassy in Seoul and suffering burns all over his upper body, according to local media reports.

The 78-year-old, only identified by his surname Kim, drove his van onto the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the building housing the Japanese embassy.

He set fire to the inside of the vehicle, where about 20 cans of butane gas and 40 liters of gasoline were found, at about 3:24 a.m. local time.

The fire was extinguished some 10 minutes later, and the elderly man was rushed to a nearby hospital as he suffered burns all over his upper body.

He died of respiratory failure and burns shock later in the day at the hospital despite treatments.