Yeoksam-dong Building Arson Suspect Referred to Prosecution, Shouts Instead of Apologizing

[Financial News] A man in his 70s identified as A, who allegedly set fire to two buildings one after another in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, injuring 19 people, has been referred to the prosecution. During the transfer, A claimed that police had failed to properly investigate allegations of patent fraud he had raised in the past.
Suseo Police Station in Seoul said on the 29th that it had referred A, a man in his 70s suspected of arson causing injury and attempted murder, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
As he left the police station that day, A raised his voice at reporters, saying, "I told the police about patent fraud, but they didn't investigate it," and asking, "Where else does this happen? What kind of country is this?"
Asked about his motive for the crime, he avoided answering, saying, "Let's stop talking about that." When asked whether he intended to apologize to the victims, he also shouted "Be quiet" in English.
A is suspected of setting fire to the third floor of Shinmyeong Building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11:54 a.m. on the 20th, then setting another fire on the fourth floor of nearby Hanyang Building seven minutes later, at around 12:01 p.m.
A total of 19 people were injured in the fires at the two buildings. One of them, a patent attorney, was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest and is receiving treatment.
The police held a committee meeting the previous day to review the disclosure of personal information and decided to release A's identifying information. However, because A did not submit a written statement of "no objection" to the disclosure decision, the information is expected to be released after the statutory waiting period.
A's identifying information will be posted on the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency website for 30 days, starting at around 9 a.m. on the 3rd of next month.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyuk Reporter