Police have moved to detain a man in his 70s who carried out a knife attack at the Ilmin Museum of Art, the former Dong-A Ilbo building, in Gwanghwamun in central Seoul.
The Seoul Jongno Police Station said Thursday that it had requested an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified as A, on charges of attempted murder and preparation for arson.
According to police, A is accused of swinging a sickle at a man in his 40s, identified as B, at the Ilmin Museum at around 7:47 a.m. the previous day, causing injuries. Immediately after the attack, A fled by taxi through the Samgakji area in Yongsan-gu and the Noryangjin area in Dongjak-gu, before being arrested under emergency procedures while hiding at an acquaintance's home in Gwanak-gu that afternoon.
The two men were found to be former workplace colleagues who had worked together in the building. Before the incident, A was in charge of cleaning-related work around the building. B, who had worked alongside him but recently submitted his resignation, had visited to collect his remaining personal belongings from the company when he met with disaster. B, who suffered a serious arm injury, was transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment and is fortunately in no danger to his life.
While processing the scene, police secured multiple indications that A had carefully planned the crime in advance, beyond a spontaneous act. A white fuel canister filled with gasoline was found in a bag believed to belong to A that was left at the scene, and in addition to the sickle used in the attack, additional weapons including a knife were collected on the second floor of the museum. The investigation team also obtained and completed analysis of nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing A discarding a weapon while fleeing.
Police additionally applied a charge of preparation for arson against A. The Ilmin Museum, the scene of the incident, and the Newspaper Museum on a different floor hold a considerable number of collections and exhibition pieces. The building, the former Dong-A Ilbo headquarters, is a modern heritage site designated as a Seoul Metropolitan Tangible Cultural Heritage. Had the incident actually led to a fire, irreversible damage would likely have occurred.
Police plan to firmly secure custody of A soon and then investigate the specific motive for the crime and whether there were any additional accomplices.
