Police call Yeoksam-dong fire a 'planned crime'

Suspect bought tools last Friday

'Wanted to frighten patent firm,' he says

Prior conviction for similar attack with gasoline

A man in his 70s suspected of setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Tuesday is escorted to Suseo Police Station in Seoul. [Yonhap]
A man in his 70s suspected of setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Tuesday is escorted to Suseo Police Station in Seoul. [Yonhap]

Nineteen people were injured after a man set fire to two adjacent patent law firms in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The suspect, a man in his 70s identified only by his surname Lee, is believed to have targeted the firms out of a grudge over patent applications he had entrusted to them. It has since emerged that Lee had carried out a near-identical attack in the past, received a prison sentence, and then appealed it as too harsh.

The Suseo Police Station, which is leading the investigation, said Wednesday that Lee "largely admitted to the crime" during an overnight interrogation and that "the suspect had planned and prepared the attack in advance." Police said they planned to file an arrest warrant with the prosecution the same day.

According to police, Lee purchased two plastic jerry cans, a lighter and flammable material near his home last Friday in preparation for the attack. He then went to two patent law firms in the Sinmyeong Building and the Hanyang Building in Yeoksam-dong around noon Tuesday, set fires at both locations and fled.

A man in his 70s arrested on arson charges is seen Tuesday carrying what appears to be flammable material as he approaches a building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, before the fires broke out. [Yonhap]
A man in his 70s arrested on arson charges is seen Tuesday carrying what appears to be flammable material as he approaches a building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, before the fires broke out. [Yonhap]

During questioning, Lee said the two firms had "issued false patent registration certificates and defrauded me," adding that he "wanted to frighten the firms and let the world know what happened." He used the arson to vent his grievances against the patent law firms, police said.

The fires left 19 people with injuries of varying severity. One person was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest and received treatment.

Employees in the offices at the time clung to exterior railings to escape the flames, while others smashed windows and fled to outdoor rest areas. In the immediate aftermath, the offices were left in chaos, with scorch marks and bloodstains covering the floors.

This was not Lee's first such attack. In 2022, he visited the same offices and carried out a similar crime, leading to his indictment. The court found him guilty of aggravated intimidation and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.

Court documents from that trial detail how the earlier attack unfolded. Lee, claiming the patent firm had ignored his demands and unfairly charged him additional fees, arrived at the office with a plastic bottle filled with gasoline. He requested a consultation, then without warning doused an employee's face and upper body with the gasoline. When the employee fled, Lee picked up a lighter and made threatening gestures as if to ignite it. He then brandished a pair of scissors to further intimidate staff.

The exterior glass of a fourth-floor office in the Hanyang Building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is shattered around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Employees broke through the window to escape the fire. By Lee Young-ki
The exterior glass of a fourth-floor office in the Hanyang Building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is shattered around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Employees broke through the window to escape the fire. By Lee Young-ki

Lee then moved on to another patent law firm nearby and repeated the same method — dousing an employee with gasoline and threatening to kill them while brandishing a pair of scissors.

The court handed down a prison sentence, calling the 2022 attack "an extremely dangerous crime that could have caused additional harm," but Lee appealed. The appellate court dismissed the appeal, and when he filed a further appeal, the Supreme Court rejected that as well.

The patent at the center of the dispute involves an exercise device. One of the patents, for a "balance exercise machine" — a device on which a user balances atop a long rotating cylindrical bar — was filed around April 2019. The patent law firm that assisted with that application was located in the Sinmyeong Building, one of the two buildings set on fire Tuesday.

Police said they planned to conduct a second on-site forensic examination Wednesday morning to determine the precise points of ignition and the sequence of events. "We will spare no effort not only in the investigation but also in protecting and supporting the victims, including covering their medical expenses," a police official said.


20ki@heraldcorp.com