Controversy has arisen over whether prior responses were adequate in the arson and explosion case at an apartment management office in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, as repeated "warning signs" had been present.

It was confirmed that the police received 112 emergency calls and were dispatched to the scene three times in the past eight months regarding the suspect.

A resident's complaint was also filed the day before the incident, but the arson attack, which injured eight people, occurred before the complaint could be processed.

Records showed that the suspect had been in conflict with the apartment management office and residents for a long time, to the extent that 112 calls and resident complaints were repeatedly filed.

Residents testified that the suspect's continuous complaints and disruptions caused the management office's accounting staff to be replaced multiple times.

Experts have also pointed out a lack of a social safety net to manage signs of crime in advance.

According to police and other sources on the 24th, three 112 calls were received by police regarding a man in his 70s, identified as A, who is the suspect in the explosion and fire at the management office of an apartment complex in Sadong, Gyeongsan, over the past eight months.

The first report was received around November of last year regarding a disturbance at the apartment, prompting police officers to be dispatched and send A home.

Around April of this year, another report was filed regarding a similar incident.

At the time, a resident who clashed with A filed a complaint against A with the police for causing a disturbance and obstructing business.

It was understood that the resident was not a victim of the current incident, and that the police who received the complaint took measures corresponding to the charges listed in the complaint.

The final 112 report was received at 10 a.m. on the 22nd, the day before the incident.

Reporting that A was causing a disturbance at the management office, police officers were dispatched, calmed the situation, and sent A home.

Subsequently, the victim of the current incident, who is also the apartment resident representative, filed a complaint against A with the police on charges including obstruction of business.

Although the police received the complaint, A committed the arson crime at 8:29 a.m. on the 23rd, even before the complaint had been assigned.

With circumstances showing that 112 calls came in periodically, police are investigating the possibility of a premeditated crime.

Residents testified that A frequently caused disturbances in daily life beyond what was reported to the police.

Residents stated that A habitually harbored grievances regarding the apartment's operation and had recently been filing complaints, such as requesting work-related documents from the management office.

It was also reported that A ran for the position of auditor in the election for resident representatives held last May, but was defeated.

A male resident said, "Because of A's persistent complaints, accounting staff at the management office frequently quit out of exhaustion," adding, "I understand about 10 people were replaced over eight years."

Another male resident recalled, "Around yesterday morning, I heard loud noises and looked out the window to see A shouting with a red megaphone. Then, A went inside the management office."

Park, an apartment resident, claimed, "A made residents' lives miserable almost every day by shouting and walking around with a weapon. It is just questionable why the police haven't arrested such a person until now."

As such, A left warning signs of crime while experiencing an "extreme conflict" with residents.

Experts pointed out that such crimes are also a problem of the social system.

Park Dong-gyun, a professor of police administration at Daegu Haany University, said, "This can be seen as a typical anger crime," adding, "From the police's perspective, even if they had strong conviction that A could actually commit a crime, there probably wasn't much the police could do under the current system."

Professor Park emphasized, "Normally, administrative welfare centers, local police boxes, and resident autonomy committees should form governance through efforts in dialogue, customized communication, and welfare programs to build a 'warm social safety net'."

He added, "In the past, people used the term 'neighborly cousins' and got along well with neighbors, but these days, conflict resolution for disputes between neighbors is lacking," and warned, "Unless we establish a system that can embrace individuals showing signs of crime like A, such crimes will become more frequent and severe in the future."

(Photo: Yonhap News)