Bizzare Arson of South Korea's top national treasure
SEOUL -- Police have arrested a suspect in a fire that destroyed a 610-year-old landmark gate considered South Korea's top national treasure, media reports said today.
Police arrested a 70-year-old man, only identified his family name Chae, on Ganghwa Island, just west of Seoul, today, Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed police officer. Cable news network YTN also carried a similar report.
The fire broke out Sunday night and burned down the wooden structure at the top of the Namdaemun gate, which once formed part of a wall that encircled the South Korean capital.
The structure collapsed as hundreds of firefighters attempted to put the blaze under control, officials said. The gate's large stone base remained intact.
Police said the suspect's physical appearance and outfit matched those of a person witnesses said climbed up the stairs of the gate shortly before the fire started.
Police also found a backpack and an aluminum ladder at Chae's house that the witnesses claimed the man was carrying at the scene, Yonhap said. A bottle of thinner was also located in his house, it said.
Yonhap said the man had been charged in 2006 with allegedly setting fire to the Changgyeong Palace in Seoul, which caused 4 million won (US$4,230; euro2,900) in damage.
YTN quoted Chae as saying he set fire to the Namdaemun gate in a fit of anger over the state of South Korean society.
An official at a police station handling the case refused to confirm the report. He declined to give his name, saying he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Lee Keun-bae, an official at the National Emergency Management Agency, said he was aware of Chae's arrest, but added that his office had not been notified of the arrest by the police.
Police earlier said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of fire, saying an electric leakage may also be the reason.
Police launched a joint inspection of the site with other officials. They analyzed the tapes from four closed-circuit TV cameras installed in the area but none showed any suspects, police officers said.
The two-tiered wooden structure was renovated in the 1960s, when it was declared South Korea's top national treasure. The government built a plaza around the gate, officially known as Sungnyemun, in 2005 and opened it to the public the following year for the first time in nearly a century.
The gate -- with a wooden plaque reading "The Gate of Exalted Ceremonies" in Chinese characters -- had been off-limits to the public since Japanese colonial authorities built a nearby electric tramway in 1907. Japan ruled the Korean peninsula in 1910-45.
The Cultural Heritage Administration said it would take at least three years and some 20 billion won (US$21 million; euro14.5 million) to fully restore the gate.
Police arrested a 70-year-old man, only identified his family name Chae, on Ganghwa Island, just west of Seoul, today, Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed police officer. Cable news network YTN also carried a similar report.
The fire broke out Sunday night and burned down the wooden structure at the top of the Namdaemun gate, which once formed part of a wall that encircled the South Korean capital.
The structure collapsed as hundreds of firefighters attempted to put the blaze under control, officials said. The gate's large stone base remained intact.
Police said the suspect's physical appearance and outfit matched those of a person witnesses said climbed up the stairs of the gate shortly before the fire started.
Police also found a backpack and an aluminum ladder at Chae's house that the witnesses claimed the man was carrying at the scene, Yonhap said. A bottle of thinner was also located in his house, it said.
Yonhap said the man had been charged in 2006 with allegedly setting fire to the Changgyeong Palace in Seoul, which caused 4 million won (US$4,230; euro2,900) in damage.
YTN quoted Chae as saying he set fire to the Namdaemun gate in a fit of anger over the state of South Korean society.
An official at a police station handling the case refused to confirm the report. He declined to give his name, saying he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Lee Keun-bae, an official at the National Emergency Management Agency, said he was aware of Chae's arrest, but added that his office had not been notified of the arrest by the police.
Police earlier said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of fire, saying an electric leakage may also be the reason.
Police launched a joint inspection of the site with other officials. They analyzed the tapes from four closed-circuit TV cameras installed in the area but none showed any suspects, police officers said.
The two-tiered wooden structure was renovated in the 1960s, when it was declared South Korea's top national treasure. The government built a plaza around the gate, officially known as Sungnyemun, in 2005 and opened it to the public the following year for the first time in nearly a century.
The gate -- with a wooden plaque reading "The Gate of Exalted Ceremonies" in Chinese characters -- had been off-limits to the public since Japanese colonial authorities built a nearby electric tramway in 1907. Japan ruled the Korean peninsula in 1910-45.
The Cultural Heritage Administration said it would take at least three years and some 20 billion won (US$21 million; euro14.5 million) to fully restore the gate.
Comments
I posted my final Oz post before I saw this. It looks like there are people in the world with a serious vested interest in who has symbolic gates and who does not.
Thanks for keeping your eyes open,
Thuth