Man in his 60s arrested for setting fire in front of English kindergarten in Songdo, Incheon... “Fear of flight”

(Incheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sang-yeon = A man in his 60s who set a fire in front of an English academy for children, so-called 'English kindergarten', was arrested by the police.

On the 12th, Incheon Yeonsu Police Station arrested Mr. A, in his 60s, on charges of arson of a Hyeonju building.

Park Young-gi, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Incheon District Court, conducted an interrogation of the suspect (substantial examination of the warrant) before arresting Mr. A this afternoon and issued a warrant, saying, "There is a risk of him running away."

Mr. A is accused of pouring gasoline and setting a fire in front of an English academy on the third floor of a commercial building in Songdo International City, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at around 7:01 a.m. on the 10th.

It was discovered that he purchased gasoline at a nearby gas station, put it in two 20L cans, then went to the academy and set a fire at the entrance.

At the time, the sprinkler activated and the fire department responded to the report by a security company and extinguished the smoke, and there were no casualties.

Mr. A was in charge of consulting work when this academy was first established, but it was found that he harbored a grudge against the academy when the partnership was terminated at the end of last year due to financial issues, etc. and a legal dispute ensued.

However, the victim academy explained in a statement that day, "The investment and operating costs necessary for establishing and operating the academy were fully borne by our company, and the other party has never paid any investment funds."

He added, “The appearance of a dispute arising from a financial dispute or mutual debt relationship between the two sides is different from the facts,” and added, “Above all, we cannot justify actions that threaten the safety of children or cause harm to educational spaces.”