Seoul:A court in Seoul has issued an arrest warrant for a man in his 70s suspected of setting fires at two buildings in southern Seoul earlier this week, resulting in injuries to 19 people.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Central District Court granted the warrant on charges of arson resulting in injuries, citing the suspect as a flight risk.
The suspect was apprehended just hours after the fires occurred at two patent firms located in separate buildings in Seoul's Gangnam district on Tuesday. Among the injured was one individual who suffered cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital.
Authorities believe the suspect bore a grudge against the firms, alleging they had defrauded him by providing fake patent registration certificates. Police investigations revealed that the suspect purchased two jerrycans, a lighter, and flammable materials near his residence in western Seoul the Friday before the incident.
Police are currently reviewing the suspect's psychiatric history and are considering additional charges of attempted murder based on reports that he was searching for a particular individual before igniting the fires.
The suspect has a prior conviction, having been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for attempting to set fires at the same patent firms four years ago.