"To Scare Them"... Police Consider Disclosing Identity of Serial Arsonist

[Anchor]

Yesterday, we exclusively reported the initial footage of the 70-year-old man who injured 19 people in a series of building arsons in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. Now, the police have begun actively reviewing the application of attempted murder charges and the disclosure of his identity.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

A man enters an office holding yellow liquid-filled containers in both hands, sets a fire, and flees.

The suspect in the serial arsons in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, identified by his surname Lee, previously received punishment in 2022 after pouring gasoline on employees and pretending to light a lighter at the same two patent law firms targeted in the current case.

At that time, however, Lee was charged only with special intimidation rather than preparation for arson.

Lee stated back then that his crime was intended to scare people rather than to start a fire, and prosecutors failed to find evidence to overturn his claim.

Having served two and a half years in prison, Lee set fire to the same patent law firms after his release, yet he continues to repeat that his purpose was merely to frighten them.

[Suspect Lee: (Did you intend to kill?) I wasn't trying to kill them, just trying to scare them.]

Survivors argued that Lee should face attempted murder charges, pointing out that he set fire to their only available exit.

[Official at the victimized patent law firm: (Claiming he just wanted to scare them) is a very calculated statement prepared to lower his sentence. (Who knows) what even greater crime he might commit in the future.]

Some legal experts note that applying attempted murder charges is feasible given the nature of the crime.

[Lee Seung-woo / Attorney: If elements such as 'even if they die, it cannot be helped' emerge to some extent during the investigation process, it is likely to head toward recognizing the charge of attempted (murder).]

The police, who have secured and are analyzing CCTV footage from the time, are actively reviewing whether to additionally charge Lee with attempted murder before sending the case to the prosecution.

Authorities also plan to consider whether to disclose his identity, taking into account the severity of the crime.

(Video by Bae Moon-san | Video editing by Park Na-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.