40s Arsonist in Recommended Resignation... Caught by CCTV Showing a Carefree Stride

Colleagues Who Worked Together Identified as Suspects Based on Their Gait
Court: "Walking Pattern Differs for Each Person Like Fingerprints"

A man in his 40s who set fire to the grass at a golf course managed by his former company after being forced to resign from the golf club where he had been bullying employees was sentenced to a prison term with a suspended sentence. The defendant denied all charges, but the court found him guilty, accepting testimonies from colleagues who identified him as the culprit based on the matching clothing seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and his distinctive "palja" (八-shaped) walking style.

On the 21st, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Young-jin) announced that it sentenced Mr. A (40), who was charged with arson of general property, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. Additionally, he was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Mr. A set fire to the grass maintained by a golf club in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on March 17 of last year, burning 70 pyeong (approximately 231 square meters). He committed the same crime again on April 1, two weeks later, burning 450 pyeong (approximately 1,485 square meters) of grass, causing public danger, and was brought to trial on these charges.

Chuncheon District Court Photo by Yonhap News

Investigators concluded that Mr. A committed the arson out of resentment after being forced to resign from the golf club on March 15 of the following year, due to charges of special property damage and continuous harassment under the Minor Offenses Act against a colleague in 2021. However, Mr. A’s defense claimed that the person in the golf club’s CCTV footage was not him and denied setting the grass on fire.

Nevertheless, the court confirmed that Mr. A had gone out on the day of the fire and noted that the clothing he wore when going out matched that of the person in the CCTV footage. Furthermore, employees who had worked with Mr. A for a long time identified him as the culprit based on the suspect’s height, body shape, facial features, the way he adjusted his glasses, and his distinctive "palja" walking style, which the court found credible.

The court explained, "Walking style, like retinal patterns or fingerprints, has subtle differences unique to each person. Therefore, it is neither unscientific nor unusual that employees who worked with Mr. A for a long time commonly identified the defendant after watching the CCTV footage." It added, "Arson is a serious crime that threatens public safety and peace, potentially causing severe harm to innocent people’s lives and property, and thus must be strictly punished. The defendant has not sincerely reflected on his wrongdoing."

Regarding the sentencing rationale, the court stated, "However, considering that the fire was discovered early and did not lead to severe property damage, and that the defendant has no prior convictions for similar offenses, the sentence was determined accordingly."

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