The court has begun a pre-arrest hearing for a 70-year-old man accused of setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, on October 20, injuring 19 people.
The presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court started the hearing at 3 p.m. on October 22 for the suspect, identified as A, who faces charges of arson causing injury.
As A arrived at the court around 1:40 p.m., he responded to reporters' questions about whether he intended to kill anyone, saying, "What do you mean kill? I just wanted to scare them."
He further stated, "I set the fire to expose a fraudster to the world," adding, "This country protects scammers."
Upon entering the court building at 2:07 p.m., when asked if he had anything to say to the victims, he replied, "I’m sorry, but..." trailing off. However, he did not answer when asked if he regretted his actions.
A decision on A's arrest is expected as early as the same day.
A is accused of igniting fires at the third floor of the Sinmyeong Building at 11:54 a.m. and at the fourth floor of the Hanyang Building, located about 200 meters away, at 12:01 p.m., injuring 19 people.
After fleeing the scene, A was apprehended near Dongmyo Station at approximately 4:15 p.m. on the same day.
Both offices affected by the fire are home to a patent law firm. Among the victims, one patent attorney was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest.
Police believe A harbored resentment against the patent law firm, suspecting it had defrauded him during his patent registration process.
A had previously been convicted and imprisoned for attempting to set fire to the same two patent law firms four years ago.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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