Following an arson attack at an apartment management office in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, that left eight people dead or injured, police have raided the home and vehicle of the suspect, a man in his 70s. After one of the victims died during treatment, the suspect's charge was changed to arson of an occupied structure resulting in death or injury.
According to reporting compiled by The Seoul Economic Daily on the 25th, a dedicated investigation team of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency executed a search warrant on the residence and vehicle of the suspect, surnamed Yu (71), at around 1:30 p.m. the previous day.
During the raid, police reportedly secured about one brown box worth of evidence, including documents related to the motive for the crime. Police are analyzing the seized items while also conducting witness interviews with victims whose health conditions have improved. Based on the victims' statements and the analysis of the seized items, police plan to determine the circumstances of the incident, the motive, and whether it was premeditated.
Yu is currently receiving treatment at a hospital for full-body burns, so no face-to-face questioning has yet taken place. Police plan to monitor the course of his treatment before executing an arrest warrant to determine the specific motive and whether the crime was planned.
Yu is suspected of setting fire to an apartment management office in Sa-dong, Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, at around 8:29 a.m. on the 23rd of this month, causing an incident in which eight people suffered burns.
A woman in her 50s who was seriously injured and receiving treatment died at a hospital at around 11:10 a.m. the following day. The woman was transferred to a burn specialty hospital in Daegu immediately after the fire and was receiving treatment there, but her condition worsened and she was moved to a hospital in Seoul, where she ultimately did not recover. She was reportedly harmed after visiting the management office to check why the closed-circuit television (CCTV) inside was not working on the day of the incident.
As the victim died, police changed Yu's charge from arson of an occupied structure resulting in injury to arson of an occupied structure resulting in death or injury. Police also plan to determine the exact cause of death through examination and autopsy, and to establish the causal relationship between the arson and the death.
Police are also examining circumstances suggesting that Yu had been in conflict with the apartment management office and residents for a long period. According to police, a total of three 112 emergency calls related to Yu were received over the past eight months. The calls were mainly related to friction that occurred at the apartment or the management office.
The last call was received on the morning of the 22nd of this month, the day before the incident. It reported that Yu was causing a disturbance while arguing with a resident at the management office. Police who responded separated the two parties at the scene and sent Yu home. Afterward, the apartment resident leader, who is a victim in this case, filed a complaint against Yu with police on charges including obstruction of business. Police received the complaint, but the arson took place on the morning of the 23rd, before the case had even been assigned to the responsible investigation unit.
Police are intensively investigating the motive for the crime and whether it was premeditated, based on the repeated calls, the circumstances of the complaint, and the materials secured through the raid.
