70-Year-Old Arson Attempt Fueled by Grudge in Verdict... The Same 'Geunom' Who Set Subway Fire 6 Years Ago

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] A man in his 70s who lost a legal dispute over real estate occupancy was caught by the police while attempting to set fire to the building.

He is known to have a similar prior record of the same type of crime.

On the 15th, the Gwangju Dongbu Police Station announced that they had urgently arrested Mr. A (77) on charges including arson of an inhabited building.

Mr. A is suspected of pouring a liquid presumed to be an inflammable substance on the stairs of a commercial building on Geumnam-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and setting it on fire around 3:20 a.m. that day.

The fire was extinguished by the police and fire authorities who responded after a security alarm sounded as Mr. A entered the building.

Mr. A reportedly lost a civil lawsuit that began over issues such as real estate occupancy with the building manager and then committed this retaliatory criminal act.

It was revealed that he also has a past record of arson crimes.

Mr. A previously operated a nightclub in the basement of the building decades ago and filed a damage compensation lawsuit against Gwangju City and an insurance company over wastewater management issues but did not receive a satisfactory ruling from the court. He is the person who set fire to a subway.

In 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for setting fire to Seoul Subway Line 3, which was carrying about 370 passengers at the time, and served his sentence.

Even after his release, Mr. A had conflicts with the building manager over real estate occupancy and other issues, and this time he lost in a civil lawsuit.

The police believe Mr. A set the fire after losing the trial and are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

A Dongbu Police Station official said, “We plan to start the first interrogation of Mr. A this afternoon,” and added, “We intend to request an arrest warrant as soon as the investigation is completed.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.