Police arrest suspect after two Gangnam building fires injure 19
A man in his 70s was arrested after fires seven minutes apart at buildings housing patent law firms in Seoul. He claimed a patent dispute motivated him; police say the investigation is ongoing.
Police arrested a man in his 70s on Tuesday, October 20, after fires at two buildings housing patent law firms in Seoul’s Gangnam district injured 19 people. The suspect claimed he acted over a dispute with a patent firm, while police said their investigation was ongoing.
The fires began seven minutes apart in Yeoksam-dong. The first was reported at 11:54 a.m. on the third floor of the Shinmyeong Building; the second broke out at 12:01 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Hanyang Building, about 200 metres away, according to The Korea Herald. Yonhap reported that authorities sent 115 firefighters to the scene.
Eleven people were injured at Shinmyeong, including two seriously, and about 60 people evacuated on their own, The Korea Herald reported. Fire authorities said one person found in cardiac arrest was taken to hospital and later resumed breathing. Another suffered severe facial burns. Firefighters extinguished that blaze at 2:20 p.m.
Eight people were injured at Hanyang, including three classified as seriously injured with breathing difficulties or lacerations, The Korea Herald reported. Firefighters put out the second fire at 12:35 p.m. Together, the two fires injured 19 people, five of them seriously.
Arrest and patent dispute claim
Police arrested the man near Dongmyo Station in central Seoul at about 4:16 p.m. The Korea Herald reported that officers tracked his movements by taxi, on foot and by subway. He was taken to Suseo Police Station for questioning later that day.
Speaking to reporters at the station, the suspect claimed a patent law firm had defrauded him over a patent he filed in 2000, The Korea Herald reported. He held up a printout of text messages and said he had prepared for the fires for about three days. His allegation of fraud remains an allegation; Yonhap reported that a police official declined to give details while the investigation continued.
Local media reported that the dispute involved an overseas trademark registration, according to The Korea Herald. The firm reportedly told the man that the country issued electronic registration certificates, but he demanded a paper certificate and accused an attorney of stealing his trademark. The printout he showed reporters included an attorney’s message explaining that a document already provided served as his registration certificate.
Police said the man had been arrested in 2022 on suspicion of preparing to set fire to the same two buildings, The Korea Herald reported. The earlier arrest places Tuesday’s attacks in the context of a previously reported threat to those locations; police have not released further details of the current investigation.
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Sources and context
- Gangnam arson suspect claims patent fraud, had attempted similar attack in 2022The Korea Herald
- (4th LD) Police apprehend arson suspect behind 2 building fires in southern SeoulYonhap News Agency
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.