Arsonist Given Suspended Sentence for Burning Ulsan Silver-Grass Habitat Covering Five Soccer Fields

【Financial News Ulsan=Reporter Choi Soo-sang】 A man in his 50s who set fire to a silver-grass habitat along the Taehwagang River in Ulsan covering an area equivalent to five soccer fields was sentenced to prison, suspended.
The 12th Criminal Division of Ulsan District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Young-je, sentenced the man, identified only as Mr. A, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on Thursday for arson of ordinary property. The court also ordered probation and psychiatric treatment.
However, the court rejected the request for custodial treatment, noting that Mr. A was already receiving psychiatric care on his own.
Mr. A was indicted on charges of causing a public danger by setting fire on two occasions in January to the silver-grass habitat along the Taehwagang River near Myeongchon Bridge in Buk-gu, Ulsan, and to a silver-grass field along the Dongcheongang River.
The fires burned 35,000 square meters—an area equivalent to approximately five international-standard soccer fields, each measuring 7,140 square meters—of the Taehwagang River silver-grass habitat and caused property damage estimated at 3 million won.
The court explained its sentencing decision, stating, "The defendant has admitted to the crime; he committed it while in a state of diminished mental capacity; the amount of damage is relatively limited; and he has no prior convictions exceeding a fine or record of punishment for similar offenses."
[email protected] Choi Soo-sang Reporter