One Dead After Car Fire Spreads to Villa; Man in His 30s Arrested

Building on fire. Photo by Yonhap News

A man in his 30s who started a fire in his car has been arrested in connection with the multi-family housing fire that occurred in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.

According to the Jeonju Wansan Police Station, the Jeonju District Court issued an arrest warrant on April 30 for Mr. A (30) on charges of gross negligence arson and gross negligence manslaughter. Mr. A is accused of lighting charcoal briquettes in his vehicle and starting a fire at around 12:41 p.m. the previous day in the parking lot on the first floor of a multi-family house in Hyoja-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju. Although the fire was extinguished in about 40 minutes, the flames quickly spread to eight vehicles and the exterior wall of the building.

A man in his 40s who suffered full-body burns was transferred to a burn specialist hospital in Daejeon for treatment but ultimately died on the morning of May 1. Three residents also sustained injuries, such as smoke inhalation, and were taken to the hospital. At the time, Mr. A exited the vehicle as the flames intensified and was not injured.

A police official stated, "Given the seriousness of the case, we plan to detain Mr. A for further investigation."

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