"I Wanted to Scare Them": 70-Year-Old Suspect in Yeoksam Serial Arson Attends Warrant Hearing

A man in his 70s suspected of injuring 19 people by setting consecutive fires at two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 20th has faced a pre-trial detention hearing.

The Seoul Central District Court held a pre-trial detention hearing starting at 3 p.m. today (the 22nd) for the man in his 70s, identified as Mr. A, who faces charges of arson resulting in injury to an inhabited building.

Emerging from the Seoul Suseo Police Station at around 1:40 p.m. to attend the warrant hearing, Mr. A answered reporters' questions about whether he intended to kill, saying, "I wanted to scare them."

He added, "I wanted to let the world know," and "This country protects scammers."

To the question, "If you just wanted to scare them, why did you set fires in front of the elevators?" he only repeated that he had been scammed.

Whether Mr. A will be detained is expected to be decided as early as today.

Mr. A is accused of injuring 19 people by setting successive fires at around 11:54 a.m. on the 20th on the third floor of the Shinmyeong Building and at around 12:01 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Hanyang Building.

Among the victims, one patent attorney was transferred to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest and is receiving treatment.

Both locations where the arsons occurred were patent law offices. Police believe that Mr. A harbored a grudge, suspecting that the patent law firms had defrauded him during his patent registration process.

Immediately after being arrested on the 20th and escorted to the police station, Mr. A claimed, "The patent law firm committed fraud."

It was also learned that during police questioning conducted that day, he stated, "I wanted to scare them (the patent law firm officials) and let the world know about this matter."

In requesting an arrest warrant for Mr. A yesterday, the Seoul Suseo Police Station noted that given factors such as Mr. A notifying the termination of his lease to coincide with the day of the crime and committing the offense not long after being released from prison, he lacks a stable residence and poses a risk of flight.

Police also emphasized the risk of evidence destruction, pointing out that he had disposed of all his crime tools.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.