The suspect, identified only as A, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on Thursday to attend a pre-arrest hearing, days after allegedly setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, on Tuesday, injuring nearly 20 people. [Yonhap]
The suspect, identified only as A, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on Thursday to attend a pre-arrest hearing, days after allegedly setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, on Tuesday, injuring nearly 20 people. [Yonhap]

Police are considering disclosing the identity of the suspect accused of setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, injuring 19 people.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is reviewing whether to refer the case of the man in his 70s, identified only as A and detained on charges of arson causing bodily harm to an occupied structure, to its identity disclosure committee, Yonhap reported Monday.

Under the Act on Disclosure of Personal Information of Suspects of Specific Serious Crimes, a suspect's identity may be made public when criminal conduct has been sufficiently proven in a case involving cruel methods or serious harm.

If the committee decides in favor of disclosure, A's face and real name would be released.

The targeted patent law firm has strongly urged that A's identity be made public.

A representative of the firm said A had smiled at a staff member who greeted him just before he set the fires. "Because of that smile, the employee still suffers from trauma," the representative said.

The representative also said A had visited the firm four years ago, arriving just before lunchtime when staff were at their busiest, and warned that "he will surely do something again once he is released."

A has been exercising his right to remain silent during police questioning and maintaining his earlier position.

After his arrest on Tuesday, A claimed he had been "defrauded" by the patent firm.

He alleged the firm had cheated him by failing to provide a physical paper patent registration certificate.

Before entering his pre-arrest hearing on Thursday, he told reporters, "I feel sorry for the victims, but I was defrauded."

Four years ago, A visited the same patent firm, demanded a paper registration certificate, doused an employee with gasoline and threatened to set them on fire. He was subsequently detained and convicted.

However, according to the targeted firm, the physical certificate A demanded is not issued under the relevant procedures.

A is accused of setting fires at the third floor of Shinmyung Building at around 11:54 a.m. Tuesday and at the fourth floor of Hanyang Building at around 12:01 p.m. the same day, injuring 19 people.

One patent attorney among the injured was transported to hospital in cardiac arrest and remains under treatment.

Police apprehended A about four hours after he fled the scene. They applied for an arrest warrant on Thursday, and a court granted it, citing the risk that he might flee.

Elderly suspects account for growing share of arson arrests

Police and fire department officials conduct a forensic examination at the scene of the arson attacks on two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Police and fire department officials conduct a forensic examination at the scene of the arson attacks on two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Separately, while arson cases have declined over the past three years, the share of suspects aged 60 or older among those arrested for arson has risen, Yonhap reported.

According to data obtained from the Korean National Police Agency by People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myeong-ok of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, suspects aged 61 or older accounted for 18.9 percent (207 people) of all arson arrests in 2023, rising to 24.9 percent (224 people) in 2025 — an increase of 6.0 percentage points.

The total number of arson cases fell from 1,203 in 2023 to 1,015 in 2024 and 927 in 2025, and overall arson arrests also declined — from 1,094 in 2023 to 962 in 2024 and 898 in 2025. Yet the number of elderly arson suspects and their share of total arrests moved in the opposite direction.

Based on last year's figures, 15.9 percent of arson suspects were motivated by personal disputes with a directly involved party. Other factors included miscellaneous causes (41.9 percent), carelessness or negligence (16.2 percent), mental illness (7.6 percent), venting anger at a third party (4.9 percent) and hostility toward society (1.9 percent).

The man in his 70s who set fire to the Yeoksam-dong buildings was sentenced to two years and six months in prison four years ago after going to the same patent firm's office and attempting to set an employee on fire by dousing them with gasoline.

In June, a man in his 70s in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, set fire to a building management office in retaliation for an ongoing dispute, killing five people including the suspect himself.


yul@heraldcorp.com