Opposition leader sent to hospital after holding hunger strike for 8 days

 The chief of South Korea’s main opposition party was taken to hospital on Wednesday night after eight days of hunger strike in protest of controversial bills on election and corruption investigation, officials said.

Liberty Korea Party (LKP) chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn lost consciousness at 11:07 p.m. in a tent set up in front of the presidential office in Seoul and was sent to Severance Hospital, according to party officials.

He began his fast last Wednesday demanding President Moon Jae-in cancel his decision not to renew a military intelligence-sharing deal with Japan and that the government and the ruling party withdraw two bills for electoral reform and a new anti-corruption investigative body. now on parliamentary fast track.

On Friday, South Korea conditionally’ suspended the termination of the pact with Japan.

But he continued to fast demanding the cancellation of the two bills pushed by the ruling bloc to establish a new agency to investigate corruption involving high-ranking officials and to revise parliamentary electoral rules to increase proportional representatives in favor of smaller parties.

The election bill was automatically referred to a plenary session Wednesday.

The ruling Democratic Party and three minor parties reached a deal on details of the political and judiciary bills in April. They designated them as fast-track bills later amid scuffles with LKP lawmakers.