Seoul police are considering adding attempted murder charges against a 77-year-old man who allegedly set fires at two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, resulting in injuries to 19 people.
According to police and reports from Yonhap News on October 26, the suspect, identified as Lee, has been exercising his right to remain silent during questioning at the Suseo Police Station, repeatedly asserting, "I was also defrauded."
Lee has claimed since his arrest that a patent law firm deceived him by not providing a physical paper registration certificate. During a pre-arrest hearing on October 22, when asked by reporters if he intended to kill anyone, he responded, "What do you mean kill? I just wanted to scare them."
However, the patent law firm has stated that physical registration certificates are not issued as part of the process, and Lee's fraud complaint has already been closed by police due to lack of evidence.
Lee had previously served a 2.5-year prison sentence for a similar incident four years ago, where he caused a disturbance at the same firm by splashing gasoline.
The primary reason police are seriously considering the attempted murder charge is the intentional nature of the crime and the method used to block escape routes.
CCTV footage confirmed that on October 20, the day of the incident, Lee spoke with an employee at the office entrance for about 20 seconds. As soon as the employee entered, Lee poured flammable liquid on the floor and ignited it. The time from conversation to arson was less than a minute.
A representative from the affected firm stated, "He set fire to the only entrance, which is also an escape route, while people were working inside. It is clear to anyone that his claim of just wanting to scare them is false." Lee was also reported to have said, "I will kill them all" as he left his home, indicating premeditation as he had purchased flammable materials in advance.
Police plan to deploy a profiler this week to assess whether Lee's obsessions or delusions influenced his actions and to conduct a thorough evaluation of his mental health. After additional investigations, they will finalize whether to apply the attempted murder charge and plan to transfer Lee to prosecutors by October 30.
As a result of the fire, one patent attorney was transported in cardiac arrest but has since recovered, while five others sustained serious injuries and are receiving treatment in the hospital.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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