A woman in her 20s who held a grudge over a neighbor's garbage dumping set fires on multiple floors of her apartment building, leading to her arrest after residents extinguished the flames in their early stages. While a major fire was averted, several people were injured from smoke inhalation.
The Eumseong Police Station in North Chungcheong Province said Thursday it had arrested a woman, identified as A, on charges of arson of a present-use building for setting fires on multiple floors of the apartment building where she resides.
A is accused of using a lighter to set fire to paper, boxes and chair cushions placed in common areas across five floors of an 18-story apartment building in Eumseong-eup, North Chungcheong Province, at around 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 29. The fires either burned out naturally without spreading or were extinguished early by residents using fire extinguishers, preventing a larger blaze. Three residents, including A, were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation during the incident.
Immediately after the incident, A told police that she "had been exercising on the stairs," but confessed to the crime when confronted by officers who had reviewed closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. During questioning, A reportedly stated that she "was upset that a neighbor had left garbage in the apartment's common area, and committed the crime amid mounting work-related stress."
The charge of arson of a present-use building applied to A is a serious offense punishable by life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least three years under Article 164, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act. The crime is established when a person sets fire to and damages a building used for residence or where people are present. While classified as an offense of abstract endangerment, attempts are also subject to punishment. As in this case, even if a fire does not spread significantly, punishment for an attempted offense is possible if criminal intent and execution are recognized.
Courts tend to apply strict standards to arson cases involving multi-unit housing because such crimes can result in harm to the lives and property of an unspecified number of people. In a similar case, a court sentenced a first-time offender who showed remorse to two years in prison, suspended for three years, stating that "had the fire not been extinguished early, it could have spread to other units and caused serious damage."
After arresting A, police are continuing to investigate the exact circumstances of the crime and plan to refer the case to the prosecution.
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