A Man Returned Home After Fighting With His Lover and Set Fire With a Lighter at Dawn...[True Story]

[Financial News] A fire broke out in the living room of a multi-family house in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, in the early morning hours. The flames started from a towel hanging on a drying rack and spread to clothing. The person who started the fire was A, 24, who lived in the house.
On May 28 last year, around 2 a.m., A argued with B, 29, a woman he was living with, at a bar in Eunpyeong District, Seoul. The two had been dating since around October 2024 and had been living together since around December that year.
After the argument, A returned home first. About an hour later, he used a lighter to set fire to a towel hanging on the living room drying rack.
The fire burned the drying rack, the towel hanging on it, and clothing. However, A extinguished the flames before they spread further, and there were no injuries or major property damage.
Prosecutors said A set fire to the items and created a public danger, and indicted him on charges of arson of general property.


According to the legal community on the 23rd, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Western District Court sentenced A, who was indicted on charges of arson of general property, to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence on May 8. The court also ordered one year of probation.
During the trial, A admitted to the act itself. However, he argued that the burned drying rack and other items were jointly owned by him and B, and that the lesser charge of arson of one's own property should apply.
The court did not accept that argument. The panel ruled that, under the Criminal Act, "one's own property" refers only to property owned solely by the defendant, and does not include property jointly owned with the victim.
The panel viewed the danger of the arson offense as serious. The fire broke out inside a multi-family home where several households lived, and there were also items nearby that could easily catch fire, so there was a substantial risk that it could have led to injuries or property damage.
Still, the court considered favorable factors such as A admitting the offense and showing remorse, and his pledge to prevent reoffending through psychiatric treatment and other efforts. The court also took into account that the crime appeared to have been committed impulsively and that he put out the fire himself before it spread further. The limited property damage, A's lack of prior convictions for the same type of offense, and the absence of criminal punishment beyond a fine were also reflected in sentencing. The court also considered that victim B had reached a peaceful settlement with A, did not want him punished, and asked for leniency.

[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter