A 70-year-old man is facing arrest for allegedly setting fires in two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, injuring 19 people.
According to Yonhap News, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court began a pre-arrest interrogation of the suspect, identified as Mr. A, at 3 p.m. on the charges of arson resulting in injury.
As he left the Suwon Police Station for the hearing at 1:40 p.m., Mr. A responded to reporters' questions about whether he intended to kill anyone, saying, "What do you mean kill? I just wanted to scare them."
He added, "I wanted to expose the fraudsters. This country protects scammers." When asked why he set fire in front of the elevator, he repeated claims of being scammed.
Mr. A is accused of igniting fires on the third floor of the Shinmyung Building at 11:54 a.m. and on the fourth floor of the Hanyang Building at 12:01 p.m. on the same day.
The fires resulted in injuries to 19 individuals, with one person reportedly in cardiac arrest and receiving treatment at a hospital.
Both locations were offices of a patent law firm. Police believe Mr. A harbored resentment against the firm, suspecting it had defrauded him during his patent registration process.
Even after his arrest on the 20th, Mr. A maintained his claims, stating, "They scammed me at the patent law firm." During the initial interrogation that day, he reiterated, "I wanted to scare them and bring this issue to light."
A decision on Mr. A's arrest is expected as early as today.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.