The man is in critical condition and suffering difficulties in breathing.
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The person suffered third-degree burns on his face, neck, higher physique and arms and was counting on a respiration machine after his lungs deteriorated, in line with an official at Seoul’s Hallym College Medical Middle, who did not need to be named, citing workplace guidelines.
Police said a statement written by Choi was found in a red bag discovered next to where he had been standing.
The rally was the largest in scale this year, ahead of the 70th anniversary to mark the end of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korea Peninsula.
More than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, are thought to have worked as sex slaves in military brothels for the Japanese army before and during the war.
Journalist HyoungJoo Choi reported from Seoul, and CNN’s Jethro Mullen wrote from Hong Kong.
Already under great pressure within his own country for moving to bolster Japan’s self-defense capabilities, speculation has been rife that the conservative prime minister will gloss over abuses such as the wartime sexual enslavement of Tokyo’s colonial subjects.
The women’s attorney said Wednesday that the group of 10 women sent a five-page joint letter addressed to President Park Geun-hye earlier this month. It added that if the Korean government requests Tokyo directly, it will not be able to ignore the court’s petitions to partake in mediation.
Other protesters at the weekly rally, including some former comfort women, recognised Mr Choi as an occasional attendee and an activist for the rights of all kinds of Koreans enslaved during the Japanese occupation and not just sex slaves.
Abe has said he stands by a 1993 apology by then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono that acknowledged the role of Japanese authorities in coercing the women.
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Less than 50 known South Korean ex-comfort women are still alive and waiting for a direct apology and compensation for their past abuse.
