Serial Arson at Two Buildings in Yeoksam-dong; Police Arrest Suspect (3rd Update)

Fires suspected to have been deliberately set broke out seven minutes apart at two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. One person was found in cardiac arrest, and 18 others were injured. Police arrested the arson suspect about four hours after the fires broke out.

Yonhap News

In a media statement Tuesday, the Seoul Suseo Police Station said it had arrested Suspect A, who is accused of arson in connection with the Yeoksam-dong fires reported between 11:55 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. Tuesday, near Dongmyoap Station at around 4:16 p.m. The arrest came about four hours after the fires broke out.

According to police and fire authorities, reports came in at around 11:54 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. Tuesday of fires at Sinmyeong Building and Hanyang Building, respectively, in Yeoksam-dong. The two buildings are only 200 to 300 meters apart.

A total of 19 people were injured in the fires at the two buildings. At Sinmyeong Building, where the first report was received, a fire broke out on the third floor. Two people were seriously injured, and nine sustained minor injuries. One of the seriously injured people was found in cardiac arrest, while the other suffered severe burns. About 60 people inside the building evacuated on their own. At Hanyang Building, where the fire broke out next, eight people were confirmed to have sustained minor injuries, including from smoke inhalation and burns, on the fourth floor.

Firefighters and police who responded to the reports mobilized 224 personnel and 56 vehicles to extinguish the fires. The fire at Hanyang Building was fully extinguished at 12:35 p.m., and the fire at Sinmyeong Building was fully extinguished at around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday. The arson by Suspect A left one person in cardiac arrest and 18 people injured.

Suspect A had previously been arrested and detained in 2022 on suspicion of preparing to commit arson at the same two buildings where the fires were set Tuesday.

After being arrested Tuesday, Suspect A arrived at the Seoul Suseo Police Station at around 6:15 p.m. Asked by reporters about the motive for the crime, A claimed, “I was defrauded by a patent law firm.”

Asked whether A had a grudge against the patent law firm, A replied, “I filed a patent in 2000, but I was scammed.” A then took out a printout of text messages believed to have come from the patent law firm and invited reporters to photograph it. The printout included the following message: “We should have sent you this document; you can consider it the registration certificate.”

Asked how long A had prepared for the crime, A replied, “About three days.” Asked whether A had anything to say to the victims, A said, “Tell them not to scam people again.”

Because both locations where A set fires were patent law firm offices, police believe the crime may have been motivated by dissatisfaction over a patent-related matter. A police official said, “We plan to investigate the motive and methods of the crime in detail.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.