Gangdong Police Station Awards Citizen Who Helped Catch Arsonist by Turning Off Subway Station Lights at Dawn

Photo by Seoul Gangdong Police Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The Gangdong Police Station in Seoul announced on the 14th that it awarded a commendation and a cash prize to a citizen who helped extinguish a fire that broke out inside a subway station and contributed to the arrest of the arsonist.

According to the police, Mr. Hwang Su-ho, who works at ESTEC System, visited Gil-dong Station on Subway Line 5 around 4 a.m. on the 3rd to go to work and witnessed a fire ignited on the restricted access tape attached to a circular bench. Mr. Hwang quickly extinguished the fire using sand from an emergency sand box, preventing the situation from escalating into a larger fire.

Mr. Hwang said, "When I saw the tape attached to the bench on fire, I thought extinguishing the fire was the top priority, and I found the emergency sand box nearby and was able to put it out. Anyone in that situation would have acted just like I did, so I feel embarrassed to receive a commendation."

The police arrested a man in his 20s, identified as Mr. A, on charges of arson of a public building. Kang Sang-gil, chief of Gangdong Police Station, expressed gratitude to Mr. Hwang, saying, "His quick and calm response prevented what could have been a much larger damage, and he also contributed to the arrest of the arsonist."

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